My mother (Pat) suffered from both Raynaud’s and Scleroderma. At the time, very little was known about the conditions. Indeed, I remember going as a young child with her to see various specialists in the hope of them finding a diagnosis for her debilitating illnesses.

Early on, she suffered from acutely painful fingers and toes, progressing to hand deformities, but without realising the impact the scleroderma was having on her internal organs. Eventually her kidneys succumbed to the disease and she was forced to survive on dialysis. Kidney transplantation was not an option as any new organs would only sclerose in the same way. Fortunately, a new dialysis technique had been developed which enabled more freedom from hospitals than conventional dialysis techniques. Pat was one of the first people in the UK to use Continual Peritoneal Ambulatory Dialysis (CAPD). This meant a permanent opening in her abdomen, through which she had to carry out 30 minute fluid exchanges, 4 times a day, 365 days a year.

Pat was determined to live as normal a life as possible despite the obvious restrictions of these exchanges. Many a time, our car would be packed full of CAPD equipment to go out for the day or go on holiday, and we would pull up in a layby so she could carry out an exchange. At times it was difficult to keep any privacy doing this - imagine how you would feel if you had to go to the toilet in full view of everyone for 30 minutes!

Unfortunately, infection was a frequent problem of having a permanent hole in her abdomen. This would lead to rapid deterioration in health together with agonising pain for Pat. My brother and I would be regularly woken in our teenage years by the sounds of her crying out, or even worse blue flashing lights outside our house signifying an ambulance taking her into hospital. Those times were the hardest for us, as we didn’t know if she would survive the night for us to see her again the next day.

Pat’s illnesses continued to progress and cause her more suffering. However, through her determination, together with the love & care of her family (especially my father and aunty), and the dedication of medical staff, she survived more than 10 years on CAPD (that’s over 15000 fluid exchanges!).

In 1995, Pat stopped suffering.

Next year is the 15th anniversary of her death. In honour of this, I would like to raise funds for the Raynaud’s & Scleroderma Association. Pat was involved with this charity in its fledgling years and it aims to promote a better communication between doctors and patients, to disseminate information and to raise funds for research and welfare projects.

To facilitate the fundraising, I will be embarking on a charity trek in April 2010 involving driving my own team of huskies 250km across the Arctic from Norway to Sweden. This is no ordinary Charity Challenge – we will be required to erect our own tents and also cook for ourselves using camping equipment provided.  As well as taking care of ourselves, we will also be required to help harness, feed and clean up after the Team of Huskies – this is a real, “hands on” Challenge! I thought this challenge was particularly relevant to my charity as those with Raynaud's are highly susceptible to cold temperatures.

My first fundraising event coincided with my 40th birthday celebrations at the end of August. I hosted an event entitled “England v Wales – The Ultimate Showdown”. My wife is Welsh and there are frequent discussions between our friends & families as to which country our son Evan will grow up supporting. This showdown was therefore crucial! Instead of cards and presents for my 40th, I asked for donations to the charity. Many were generous and have helped make a difference to others suffering in a similar way to my mother.

My next event is a seminar for Podiatrists that I am organising entitled "Work Smarter, Not Harder". I aim to provide those attending from throughout the region with valuable knowledge and information to help their private practices be more profitable. I hope they will find the seminar invaluable and therefore consider making donations to the charity.

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