Hi All,

Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.

As some of you will already know, I lost my Father in January as a result of Motor Neurone Disease (MND).

He was diagnosed in May 2009 which came as a great shock to both himself as well as the rest of the family. Not a lot of people are aware of what MND is or what the disease entails. MND effects each individual differently and as a result the life expectancy / severity of the condition can vary.

In my father case he was diagnosed with the suspicion that he had in fact already had the disease for 18 months - 2 years. What was to follow on from the diagnosis was quite alarming in terms of the rapid deterioration which everyone had underestimated, including the specialists.

Without going into all the details, my father soon became completely dependant on the full time carers and required support 24hrs a day. It was too big a job for my step mum or indeed any family member to cope with on their own. All the carers involved were a god send and helped to make my father as comfortable as possible.

I myself was in regular contact with one of the MND Specialist Nurses who I found to be extremely knowledgeable and tactful through what was the most difficult time of my life to date.

There is currently no cure for MND but the research is ongoing and without the invaluable work that the various MND charities carry out, those affected by MND would have even tougher times than they do already.

I have therefore decided to give something back and raise some funds for a charity which is obviously very close to my heart. On Sunday 16^th May I will be taking part in the MND Scotland Annual Fun Run which consists of running 6 miles around the loch at .

This will act as a warm up as the following Sunday, 23^rd May, I will be running the Jersey North Run Half-Marathon.

 

I realise there is fund raising every other week these days and that some of you will already have a chosen charity etc but I would be very grateful if you could spare even a small donation for this worthy cause.

 

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving – they’ll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they’ll send your money directly to the charity and make sure Gift Aid is reclaimed on every eligible donation by a UK taxpayer. So it’s the most efficient way to donate - I raise more, whilst saving time and cutting costs for the charity.

So please dig deep and donate now.

All donations very much appreciated.

Many thanks

Derek