I was fortunate enough to gain a place for the London Marathon and took the opportunity to run for a charity. 

I was meant to run in 2020 but covid had other ideas. Due to having covid myself, I decided to defer to the 2022 event. 

I chose the Nation Brain Appeal charity because my friend and colleague suffered a brain haemorrhage in 2015 at the young age of 27 during a heart operation. Luckily she is still with us today and has been fortunate enough the return to teaching in school but she has had to sacrifice so much and adapt her life since the haemorrhage. Gemma loved hiking and was a keen dancer prior to the haemorrhage however her mobility has been affected meaning she uses a walking stick and electric wheelchair (which she likes to chase people in haha!). From my perspective of only knowing her for just over a year, she takes everything in life as it comes. Gemma just deals with it and goes on doing the things that she can do without dwelling on the things she can no longer do. I sometimes think if it was me I'm not sure I would be able to cope as well as she does. My life revolves around fitness and keeping active, so I would like to run for the people who can't! So many people don't realise how lucky they are to be able to put a pair of trainers and run! 

Gemma so kindly wrote her own personal account of events where without charities such as this one, she would not be here and living the life that she is so fortunate to have. 

''I will forever be grateful to the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery (NHNN) for everything they have done for me. I can honestly say that I would not be here today without the care and on-going treatment I have received at the NHNN. The hospital’s charity, The National Brain Appeal, aims to improve the outcome and quality of life for the one in six people nationally affected by a neurological condition. This is my story of how I acquired my neurological conditions and the care I have received at the NHNN. 

I can still remember travelling down to the hospital in London for my surgery and can remember parts of the morning of surgery, such as going up to the ward. That is where my memory ends – the next memories I have are from three weeks after that date. During my stenting surgery I suffered from a brain haemorrhage. Although I did regain consciousness following the surgery I quickly lost it again. As I was unresponsive I was sent for a scan which revealed the brain haemorrhage. My husband was told to contact the rest of my family and to get them to travel to London. I was then transferred to the NHNN for my first brain surgery. 

The NHNN obviously played a vital role in my initial survival of the brain haemorrhage. I have remained under their care since my discharge as an in-patient at the end of February 2015. In the first few months following the haemorrhage this involved rehabilitation sessions to help me recognise the cognitive damage caused by the haemorrhage (such as memory problems and fatigue) and ways to deal with this. When I began to suffer from a decline in movement I was sent for an MRI scan which revealed that the haemorrhage had activated some arachnoid cysts on my spine and also caused a pain disorder called arachnoiditis, which is an inflammation of one of the layers in the spinal cord. I now attend the hospital a couple of times a year for MRI scans and appointments. 

The on-going care and support I have received at the NHNN has been excellent and I am grateful for the treatment I continue to receive there. This is why supporting this charity is so important to me and why I am very grateful that Whitney has decided to run the London Marathon for The National Brain Appeal.''

Thank you so much for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page. Let's do this!!! London Marathon come at me!!! 

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