Helen Hyland, Fundraising Manager, ME Association.
While the rest of us will be taking a well-earned break this Bank Holiday weekend, three very special people are going to be fundraising hard for M.E., and for people they care deeply about.
- Abigail will be racing in the Lee Valley Velo Park Half Marathon,
- Megan is aiming to scale not one, but THREE, peaks for M.E. in Yorkshire, and,
- David is running his last of FOUR marathons for M.E. in the space of just 30 days, in Dorchester.
Abi writes, “I am running for my cousin Jho who had to give up his hugely successful, global career and music management business because of M.E.
“It is so sad because he had succeeded in bringing some of the best, revolutionary music to our playlists, radios and music festivals, so much so that he inspired the path I’ve chosen to take in life!
“On a bad day, he may now struggle to do the littlest things, such as standing up to watch his son play football from the bedroom window or play fairy dress up with his little girl. All things we take for granted.”
Megan is clambering up tough hills in Yorkshire because M.E. forced her husband Tim to give up work 6 years ago.
She’s not a natural mountain goat, and has had to fit in her training around ensuring their household runs smoothly as she is mother of our two children, Tim’s carer and goes out to work.
But Megan is determined to do all she can because, she fervently believes that there is far too little research into M.E. and far too many medics still think it is psychological.
David is now a veteran fundraiser for M.E. Last year he ran over 1000 miles to fundraise for the ME Association.
For this final race he’ll be dressed in a fetching purple tutu. Running is vital therapy for him because he is his wife Sandra’s carer.
He is particularly worried about this last run because he’s having to stay away for a night and this is leaving him anxious. He’s cooked hard to make sure that his wife has adequate supplies of food and drink with minimal effort to prepare (she can't stand for long periods).
But there’s always the worry that she might experience a “crash” when her energy completely goes. This can happen after a very slight exertion such as getting up to answer the phone. It's all a bit unpredictable. She copes with all this but it's far from easy.
He’s not asking you to get the violins out here as he says he thinks they are actually “pretty lucky” because many sufferers are completely bedbound, and Sandra does get occasional “better days”.
David finds it hard to say that he is his wife’s carer. He thinks that he probably isn’t a very good one and hates feeling that although he is doing his best, he may sometimes fall short of the required standards.
Fundraising manager, Helen Hyland, insists however that NONE of these particular fundraisers should feel that they are letting anyone down this weekend – they are all heroes in her eyes.
Between them they have raised well over £3,000 – beating their combined targets by nearly 100%. And yet they are still keen to do more.
She says “If you know David, Abi or Megan and haven’t yet donated, then please do so now. Help to make the UK a better place for the people with M.E. that they care so much about.”
The ME Association
We help people with M.E. and their families.
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Help us continue to make the UK a better place for people with M.E.