Story
Thanks for taking the time to visit my Just Giving page.
Many of you will know that I have done several 10 mile runs before for charity, and have kindly sponsored me before. This time though I am pushing myself to a limit I didn't know existed by running the Brighton Marathon in April, and all for an awesome cause, which I will explain.
This is all about my little nephew, Theo, and the school that he attends, which is run by a local charity in Southampton. As some of you are aware, Theo has several mental and physical disabilities which do not allow him to lead a life that able bodied children do, which is something that is taken for granted by most of us with kids. He was born with CMV which is a little heard of virus that affects development during pregnancy and has led to him having Cerebral Palsey, epilepsy, visual and hearing impairment, multiple seizures, and many more disabilities that have a massive impact on both him and his parents lives on a daily basis.
He is now attending a free school, The Rosewood School in Southampton, that is funded by the Rose Road Association in Hampshire, which allows him to have a semi normal upbringing, in the fact that he can go to school for a few days each week. The school has specialist equipment for their students, a one to one ratio of carers to pupils, sensory rooms, and a hydrotherapy pool, all of which make a massive difference to the kids there, but all cost an absolute fortune to purchase and maintain. They are the first free specialist school in the country, and by doing this have ensured a future for the school and are able to reach out to kids with more complex needs across Hampshire. The Rose Road Association that fund this school also provide parents and children with much needed respite care, which allows the parents to have a carer look after their child for a few hours every couple of weeks, meaning the parents are able to do something together as a couple, which is something else we all take for granted.
My sister in law has just been speaking to me about how much this school and the charity makes a difference to kid’s lives. Then she mentioned that she has recently received some letters from the charity, and the school. These letters are about children who attend the school, who have very sadly passed away recently. The letters mention that although the children only had short lives, they benefitted from attending the school, and from the Rose Road Association. In their short lives, they had happy memories, as do the parents, and their lives were bettered by attending the school. Most of these children were under seven or eight years old.....
Please sponsor me to help these children. I have three kids that are healthy and can do things that kids should be able to do. I am running this marathon in order to help far less fortunate kids have some kind of normal life. To do this, I am putting myself through a great deal of pain, and the training for it is taking up my already limited spare time, as it takes at least fifteen hours a week to train. My knees are in constant pain, my IT band in both my legs is stretched and aching, and after completing 18 miles last week I was reduced to tears, in public, sat on the floor in the park in Southampton, had problems walking for two days, and had to crawl up the stairs in my house. I wasn't built for running at all, but I will keep putting my body through this to raise money for this cause, as the children are worth it.
So please, give this charity and few quid, and maybe have a smile on your face knowing that I will be in agony until the marathon is over on 14th April.
The website for the school can be viewed at the following link:
http://www.rosewoodfreeschool.org.uk/
The Rose Road Association can be viewed through this link:
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