(Please note - now running the Edinburgh Half Marathon on Sunday 25 May 2014 as the Rock n Roll event was cancelled).

 

 

Running for Fran!

Having previously raised money for the RNLI in memory of my brother John, I swithered about the recipient of my next fundraising effort but, after my friend and former neighbour Fran Benison was diagnosed with MS in September 2013, the decision was soon made for me.

 

Rather than donating to the national MS charity, I opted for a facility right here in Dundee which is helping Fran greatly and which has become a real lifeline for her, both on health grounds and on a social level.

 

Put simply, although the MS Therapy Centre is not somewhere one would generally choose to ‘hang out’, it has become a place where she is happy, relaxed and understood, where she goes for everything from crucial hyperbaric oxygen treatment and physio to pilates and – here’s the important bit – a cuppa, chat and a laugh amongst those who ‘get it’.  Indeed, Fran always feels better coming out of the Centre than when she went in – the word ‘therapy’ is not just about the practical and physical elements after all. Fran firmly believes that, without the Centre, she would be much further behind in her progress, both physically and emotionally.

 

My decision to raise funds for the MS Therapy Centre was compounded by the fact that my good friend Lorna Angus took up the post of Centre Administrator last year – far from just an office job.  She is a valuable listening ear to those who come into the Centre and, indeed, shares a laugh and quite often a cry with them. Having met Lorna through hugely emotional circumstances and sharing the bond of the loss of a sibling, there’s no doubt that, with her empathy, understanding and general greatness, Lorna is the ideal lady for the job and it’s not surprising that she now views Fran as a friend too.

 

So, putting these lovely, positive friends of mine aside for a minute, where will your donation go and who will it help?

 

Shockingly, the Centre, which opened back in 1982, is self-funded and receives no funding from the Government, NHS or the other usual suspects you might think of.  It relies entirely on people like me, as well as bequests.  And it works. Indeed, the other 64 therapy centres throughout the UK and Ireland are all based on the Peddie Street model.

 

For more information, please visit www.taysidemstherapy.co.uk.