On April 27th 2025 I will be running the London Marathon for the MS Trust. Anyone that knows me, will know I have no love of running, I am not a natural enthusiast of running and this is why I'm choosing to take on this challenge in order to help raise money/awareness for the MS Trust.

This will physically be one of the hardest things I will do in my Life, I've already begun my training and not sure how my own MS will react to 4+ hours of running.

11 years ago I was diagnosed with MS, My left eye had stopped moving and I remember the day I was sat in a hospital off loading all these symptoms I had been experiencing, numbness in my hands, holes in my vision. Within 7 days I had a MRI and from the results I was diagnosed with MS. This is one of the most confusing periods of my life. I experienced the 5 stages of grief, denial, anger, bargaining, depression and finally acceptance. The MS trust support during this time was invaluable. Providing free information on MS and what forms of treatment (Disease modifying drugs) were available and any potential risks.

The MS trust provides much more ,such as advice for family/friends, support MS professionals in training and development.

If you would like to know more please see the link below.

https://mstrust.org.uk/what-we-do/about-us#funding-nurses

The MS trust is a purely donation based charity, they receive no government or NHS funding, while providing their services for free. Around 135 people every week are diagnosed with MS.

£6 could pay for one copy of an MS information book, which can help a person with MS better understand their condition.

£15 could pay for one of our information specialists to provide telephone support to a person with MS.

£100 could cover the cost to provide our Making Sense of MS guide to everybody diagnosed with MS in one week.

£411 could provide an MS specialist nurse with publications and factsheets to share with their patients for one year.

£940 could pay for our free MS Enquiry Service for one week.

£1,765 could pay for a newly-appointed MS specialist nurse to receive foundation training in MS care, through the MS Trust’s development module.

£53,000 could fund an MS specialist nurse for one year.