Story
Thank you for taking the time to look at our Just Giving page.
My mum and I will be completing the Yorkshire 3 Peaks challenge (24.5 miles and 1,500m of ascent!) on 12th June 2021 to raise money for ‘PSC Support’. This is the leading patient led organisation for anyone affected by Primary Sclerosing Cholangitis (PSC). Their work covers 3 main areas – finding a cure, improving lives, and empowering people with knowledge and support.
PSC is a rare immune – mediated liver disease that affects the bile ducts inside and outside the liver, it is complex, incurable, often presents with numerous other co-morbidities, and can result in the need for liver transplantation.
Our Story:
As some of our close family & friends will know my younger sister Gemma, was diagnosed with PSC in August of last year.
Before diagnosis Gem was very ill. The question mark surrounding what was making her so unwell was frustrating and frightening, coupled with the current pandemic and the fact she currently lives in Australia with no way of getting to see her made the hospital admissions even harder to deal with.
Thankfully she had a quick diagnosis which we have come to learn does not often happen due to the rarity & complexity of the disease along with its variable presentation.
At the young age of 23 this has been overwhelming for Gem and ourselves to come to terms with. There was little out there to help us make sense of the diagnosis and what it meant until we found PSC support. We have relied heavily on the charity to help us navigate our understanding of the disease, find specialist recommendations, and seek emotional support.
Gem is currently living a fairly normal life, but the disease is highly unpredictable in nature and progression varies from person to person; the pain and uncertainty is something she is going to have to live with every day
However, even after receiving such a life changing and overwhelming diagnosis Gem is ‘doing her bit’ by taking part in some of the cutting edge research to help find a cure for PSC. She is hoping to participate in a 2 year clinical trial in Australia.
Helping fundraise for more ground breaking research projects is the only way we can hopefully get better treatments, and one day a cure. The next one could be the breakthrough that Gem and people with PSC are waiting for ....anything you can donate will help us do ‘our bit’ and honestly means the world..
Thank you! #LetsBeatPSC