Saima Herz was the love of my life, my best friend and everyone who knew her adored her.

Sadly after just 2 months of married life I got a call from Saima’s work telling me that she wasn’t feeling great and she wasn’t making sense when she was talking. She had been complaining of flu like symptoms 2 days before this and even went to the doctor. Paracetamol and rest was what was prescribed as Saima just had flu like symptoms. I thought there was genuinely nothing to worry about.

I jumped into my car and drove to pick up my wife from work as any man would. She barely recognised me. She was in a zombie like state, frail and confused. I knew at that moment that something was terribly wrong so I rushed her to the nearest hospital.

Saima collapsed in my arms in the hospital and I knew things were taking a turn for the worse as soon as the fits/seizures and alarms were going off around us. This was no nightmare. This was reality. I was watching my wife slipping away from me just weeks after coming back from our honeymoon.

Unfortunately Saima had got the Encephalitis virus which I’d never heard of before. Encephalitis is an inflammation of the brain. It is caused either by an infection invading the brain (infectious encephalitis) or through the immune system attacking the brain in error (post-infectious or autoimmune encephalitis).Anyone at any age can get encephalitis. There are up to 6,000 cases in the UK each year and potentially hundreds of thousands worldwide. 

4 days later after being in a coma Saima passed away due to the severity of her illness and the inflammation of her brain.

I am cycling with my close friends and family from Manchester to London over 3 days and 2 nights cycling over 110km a day pushing myself to the limit.

I can’t put into words how much every little donation means to me for this charity. With more research, help and donations people like Saima may have been saved.

Please find it in your heart to donate to this amazing cause.

All my love and thanks,

Michael.