Story
Thank you for looking at my just giving website. My father was an active man in his early 70's when he was first diagnosed with Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis. He was a non smoker and a very proud and private man. He had worked all of his life as an engineer and business man and continued to work on different projects to secure his family's financial future up until his death.
Over the next 2 years he deteriorated requiring home oxygen and a very limited exercise tolerance. He took this all in his stride and the way he coped with his diagnosis and disease was inspirational. Unfortunately he succumbed to a chest infection in September 2017 but maintained his dignity till the end.
Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis is an incurable condition with an average life span of 3-4 years after diagnosis. The cause of which is unknown but leads to progressive scarring of the lungs and eventual death. This survival rate is worse than most cancers. The disease is increasing in incidence and there are only two therapeutic treatment options that may delay the progression. Given the advances in medicine with regards to autoimmune conditions and cancers I believe we are just scratching the surface with IPF and a cure can be found.
I first mentioned the idea of cycling to Land ends to John O' Groats to my cycling friends last year and since then the enthusiasm for this trip has grown. We are planning to perform the trip over 9 days which will be an average of over 100 miles per day. This is an unsupported trip requiring us to carry all of our equipment and clothes and is a real challenge. The more we can raise towards helping to find a cure for this devastating disease will make it all worth while.
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