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I will be running in the Bupa 10000 on 27 May 2013 and my aim is to raise as much money as possible for The Facial Surgery Research Foundation – Saving Faces

 

Imagine if your face stopped looking like you. Imagine friends and strangers averting their eyes, embarrassed, because of the way you look.

The face is the only part of our body we cannot hide. It conveys our emotions and innermost feelings. We often judge each other on the basis of facial appearance, making assumptions on a whole range of issues. People suffer the consequences of facial diseases, injuries and disfigurement every day.

 

As a result of a bad fall whilst out running in September and then an unfortunate ensuing chain of events, I was most fortunate, 2 months later, to be treated by Consultant Oral & Maxillofacial Surgeon Simon Holmes who, using his expertise, successfully put me back together again.

I later found out that he is one of the Trustees of the Saving Faces charity which is the only charity in the United Kingdom solely dedicated to the worldwide reduction of facial injuries and diseases. They are taking the lead in education and research to improve the physical and psychological treatment of all victims of oral cancer and other facial diseases as well as disfiguring injuries.

 

Purely to attract attention to myself, until the 27 May, I am dressing up for my weekend runs. I get a lot of sideways glances, many smiles and a few toots of horns.

It serves as a calling card and provokes people to ask why on earth I am running the streets of Essex in fancy dress. I tell them about about Saving Faces and also make the point that when I go home I can wash the paint off

– people with disfigured faces cannot just wash it away …

 

In the United Kingdom alone around 125,000 young drinkers also sustained serious face injuries last year, with 15,000 receiving surgery to repair dangerously disfiguring wounds. 4,700 people develop oral cancer every year and 1,700 people died from this kind of cancer last year. Despite the severity of these issues, this remains a much neglected research area leaving thousands of  those unfortunate enough to be affected with little hope for the future. Not enough is known about facial disease, injury and deformity, their psychological and emotional impact and, critically, which treatments are most effective. The Facial Surgery Research Foundation - Saving Faces, is the only charity in the United Kingdom solely dedicated to the worldwide reduction of facial injuries and diseases.

 

Please help me support The Facial Surgery Research Foundation - Saving Faces.                                                                                                        

 

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