This summer, myself and three friends (Euan, Leo and Alex) are fundraising to support Facioscapulohumeral Muscular Dystrophy (FSHD) research in Sheffield. We will be cycling from Sheffield (UK) to Mons (Belgium), where a lot of research has been carried out on DUX4, the cause of FSHD.

The journey is more than 425 miles (683km), and we've set ourselves the challenge of completing this over 4 days in the middle of August! It's now May and myself and another member of the group, have only ridden a road bike ONCE! Let the training begin!

Why? In 2007 my sister, Kate, was diagnosed with FSHD. Throughout my childhood, I grew up watching this disease eat away at her muscles. I have seen my sister go from being able to run, ski and swim to now being unable to walk unaided. Over the past 17 years FSHD has had a devastating impact on the life of our family.

FSHD is a degenerative condition which causes skeletal muscles to irreparably deteriorate. There are no approved treatments and there in no cure. The money we raise with this challenge will help to advance research, moving us closer to finding a treatment and changing the lives of those affected by FSHD.

If you want to learn more about the FSHD research in Sheffield, then please follow the link below:

https://open.spotify.com/episode/1VnvqA6n2tK0ar82o5FcNY?si=c15c84a29c7a4e26

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Sheffield Hospitals Charity help Sheffield’s hospitals, community teams and health and social care services to cover costs their NHS budgets can’t.

They fund support for patients and staff, life-changing research and more, so that they can enhance care from birth to the end of life and everything in between.

Somewhere along the line, their funding is likely to have helped you or someone you love.