Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.

My younger sister, Nicola, is very unfortunate to suffer with a S shaped spine because of scoliosis. She absolutely loves sports; in particular horse riding and running, however often wakes up in lot of pain because of her spinal problems. She's been to see numerous specialists, from physiotherapists to chiropractors, and each time there seems to be contradicting ideas and therapies which never seem to help much. Despite causing her a lot of pain, my sister's scoliosis doesn't limit her day-to-day life that much and I know there are a lot of other people in this world that suffer far worse.

I was inspired to run the marathon after seeing Nicola run The London Marathon 2017. I am running on behalf of Spinal Research because I know there is still a long way to go in terms of finding solutions to back injuries. Please empty your wallets and give as much as you can, so that we can get one step closer to helping as many people as possible with spinal cord injuries, especially those with paralysis who need the support so much more.

Here are some the scary facts linked to spinal cord injuries:

The number of people living with paralysis caused by a spinal cord injury in the UK and Ireland is estimated to be 50,000. Globally, the figure is around 2.5 million.

Every day three people the UK and Ireland are paralysed following a spinal cord injury. In that instant, their lives, and those of their family and friends, are changed forever.

The spinal cord, like the brain, is part of the central nervous system (CNS), the essential highway of communication between the brain and the rest of the body. When injured, nerves in the CNS do not repair themselves spontaneously.

In addition to paralysing arms and legs, spinal cord injury affects physical sensation, the body’s control systems (breathing, heartbeat, blood pressure, temperature, bladder and bowel) and sexual function. The psychological implications are enormous.

If you are interested in finding out more:

https://www.facebook.com/SpinalResearch

https://twitter.com/SpinalResearch

Thank you for taking the time to read my story. #TeamSpinal

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