It’s the regular running that keeps Veronika and Aron, who care for three people in their family, safe and able to cope with those extra demands in their lives. Aron is a teacher, while Veronika works from home as a freelance translator.
“With working and caring for three people now, it is too easy to say I won’t run today. I’m too tired. I’m too busy. I can’t be bothered”, said Veronika, who will be taking part in the Cheltenham Half Marathon on 21st September to raise money for the ME Association, along with her husband Aron.
“The half marathon in September puts the pressure on me to keep running. I have two lovely friends I run with on a regular basis. It means I keep doing it. When I don’t run, my mental health suffers”.
Veronika and Aron have a 15-year-old son who went down with ME last year and since February has barely been able to leave his room. They have an older daughter who is autistic and they’re also looking after Aron’s father, who had a major health scare a few weeks ago.
On her fundraising page, she said their son attended his friend’s birthday party for a few minutes. “That’s non-negotiable. I’m going to go – no matter the backlash,” he announced. The backlash came. For weeks after he was happy that he’d been but he was hardly able to speak.
“He is now mostly bedbound. He can’t watch TV, read or game. He can’t chat to family or friends. He struggles to hold a conversation for more than five minutes,” said Veronika.
Her son can’t attend lessons, and has had to stop playing Warhammer, his favourite game, until he gets better.
Photos show gorgeous family photos taken over the years and the route of this year's Cheltenham Half, which will be raced by thousands.
“On a good day, he is sitting up in bed, we bring him his meals, some snacks and drinks in between, we exchange a few words. He may listen to an Audible or, on a very good day, he may even spend that precious time watching something on his tablet.”
The family always used to spend a lot of the school holidays with family abroad, hiking, swimming in the lake in summer, skiing and sledging in winter.
“Now that our son can’t even come downstairs, he definitely can’t travel so we can’t go to see family together anymore. Having friends round is tricky, too, because he is so sensitive to sound.”
Aron and Veronika have already raised well over £1,300 for the ME Association which they want to be spent on evidence-based research into biomarkers and causes.
“Our son is a driven, extremely intelligent boy who should have a productive life and future ahead of him. At the moment, however, he is less able to interact and has less energy than his grandmother had the day before she died.
“This is a physical condition. Something went terribly wrong in his body from one week to the next. Let’s find out what that is. Let’s find a cure to get people with CFS/ME and their families back to life again.”
If you would like to donate to Veronika’s fundraiser, please click on THIS LINK
Thank you!
Tony Britton
Senior Fundraising Volunteer, The ME Association
fundraising@meassociation.org.uk
