OT "A Mile for Everyone"
Aguila
Posts: 622
Hi everyone, I wonder if any of you will help me raise money for a fantastic cause.
I'm a doctor in Nottingham, I mainly look after adults with Cystic Fibrosis. CF is the commonest life limiting condition in the UK, causing repeated chest infections, bowel and pancreas problems. Over time the lungs are progressively destroyed, the average life expectancy is currently only 38 years. Things have improved rapidly for these patients however; in the 1960's 80% of patients didn't live to their 5th birthday, a CF baby born today can expect to live into their 50s. CF affects more of us than many realise, 1 in 22 of us carry one abnormal CF gene without symptoms. The improved outlook owes much to the specialist centres that look after patients like ours. However in Nottingham our facilities have for years been very poor and have limited the scope of care we can offer patients.
CF patients are an inspirational group of people, they are young, trying to live a normal life but have to spend hours every day doing complex, unpleasant treatments designed to slow the irreversible progressive destruction taking place in their bodies. I think, oddly enough, that they share much with the dedicated road rider, using determination and finding purpose by overcoming suffering. In their case this doesn't simply form part of their lives and character, it is their life and is needed simply to stay alive. Many of them do this with breathtaking success, achieving careers and families despite everything and despite the knowledge that they will probably not live to see their children grown up or their partners grow old.
We are lucky in these financial times that our hospital is backing the building of a new, purpose built CF unit for our patients. This will totally transform our patients lives and the way we work. It will cost over 6 million pounds, the Hospital charity has committed to raise over 2 million pounds to make the unit truly extraordinary. You can read more about the campaign here:
http://www.nuhcharity.org.uk/news/2012/ ... -campaign/
I will be doing my bit by riding 154 miles on the 17th June, taking part in the Flatout in the Fens sportive. I have chosen this event as it allows me to ride a mile for every one of the adult CF patients we look after in Nottingham. I know as an event it may lack the glamour or intensity of the Etape, Marmotte or the Cent Cols challenge but my 2 small daughters make a long duration or foreign challenge logistically impossible, another year.
I'm not destined to raise 2 Million pounds but want to do all I can to contribute. My fundraising page is linked below, it would be great to have some Bike Radar sponsorships, however small!
Thanks for reading this far! Andy.
http://www.justgiving.com/Andy-Clayton154
I'm a doctor in Nottingham, I mainly look after adults with Cystic Fibrosis. CF is the commonest life limiting condition in the UK, causing repeated chest infections, bowel and pancreas problems. Over time the lungs are progressively destroyed, the average life expectancy is currently only 38 years. Things have improved rapidly for these patients however; in the 1960's 80% of patients didn't live to their 5th birthday, a CF baby born today can expect to live into their 50s. CF affects more of us than many realise, 1 in 22 of us carry one abnormal CF gene without symptoms. The improved outlook owes much to the specialist centres that look after patients like ours. However in Nottingham our facilities have for years been very poor and have limited the scope of care we can offer patients.
CF patients are an inspirational group of people, they are young, trying to live a normal life but have to spend hours every day doing complex, unpleasant treatments designed to slow the irreversible progressive destruction taking place in their bodies. I think, oddly enough, that they share much with the dedicated road rider, using determination and finding purpose by overcoming suffering. In their case this doesn't simply form part of their lives and character, it is their life and is needed simply to stay alive. Many of them do this with breathtaking success, achieving careers and families despite everything and despite the knowledge that they will probably not live to see their children grown up or their partners grow old.
We are lucky in these financial times that our hospital is backing the building of a new, purpose built CF unit for our patients. This will totally transform our patients lives and the way we work. It will cost over 6 million pounds, the Hospital charity has committed to raise over 2 million pounds to make the unit truly extraordinary. You can read more about the campaign here:
http://www.nuhcharity.org.uk/news/2012/ ... -campaign/
I will be doing my bit by riding 154 miles on the 17th June, taking part in the Flatout in the Fens sportive. I have chosen this event as it allows me to ride a mile for every one of the adult CF patients we look after in Nottingham. I know as an event it may lack the glamour or intensity of the Etape, Marmotte or the Cent Cols challenge but my 2 small daughters make a long duration or foreign challenge logistically impossible, another year.
I'm not destined to raise 2 Million pounds but want to do all I can to contribute. My fundraising page is linked below, it would be great to have some Bike Radar sponsorships, however small!
Thanks for reading this far! Andy.
http://www.justgiving.com/Andy-Clayton154
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