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I don’t remember much about my late Dad, Alan Cumming. I was only 6 when he died.  I know many stories, but those were probably told by others as my memories don’t stretch back that far. The picture of Alan and I below is my last existing memory of him.  I wish I could remember more.  His death had an enormous impact on my family. 

Alan Cumming developed M.E. (Myalgic Encephalopathy), or Chronic Fatigue Syndrome in late 2004.  It wasn’t an illness that many of our family knew much about – then.  We now know that it is an illness that greatly blights the lives of 250,000 people in the UK today.

Having M.E. completely changed my dad from an extremely active man with a love for many things like family and football, to one that was constantly too tired to do even the simplest of tasks; couldn’t think clearly enough to string a sentence together; and often had to spend many of his days sofabound. He found this sudden change really difficult to bear, and he struggled greatly to communicate his troubles and the extent of his suffering to close friends or family. In October 2005 he took his own life.

He has missed so much of my life, my music, and my hockey. I share so many of his interests including his passion for all things football and his love of sweet things, especially toffee. I’m not as athletic as he was, but now, 15 years later, I now plan to do my own 10k run fundraiser for ME.  We need to raise more money for research so that other families will not have suffer what we went through.   Other family members have fundraised for ME – Gail, Tom, Mum and even Neo, our dog. Now it’s my turn to do something for M.E. and in memory of my Dad.

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