Annie Elizabeth Carroll, My Sister.
On New Year ’s Day of January 1995 my Sister Annie was born. At the time nobody knew that there was something wrong with her mentally. She had however acquired one major setback in her little life thus far; her feet were bent inwards, the doctors called it clubbed feet. She would be wheelchair bound.
My parents had me five years earlier (not to the day but it was in January).I came out with no problems at all and to this day I have none (except for my addiction to drunken nights out with the lads!).
A few days after the nasty news that sister would be wheel chair bound, my parents were then hit with an even bigger hammer blow; my sister had a chromosome disorder. In a nut shell it is when your DNA messes up and can have dire consequences. In terms of my sister it meant that she would have severe learning difficulties. She is now fifteen and has the mental age of less than two. My parents were devastated.
The reason why I mentioned my own birth in between was to highlight how this horrible situation can happen to anybody. My parents had two children me and my sister. I turned out healthy, my sister got slapped with two cruel disadvantages.
Yet despite this Annie is still a wonderful person and while she hasn't learnt the works of Chaucer, she certainly has learnt to smile ten times better than I ever could. Just being in the same room with her for a few minutes can light up my day, because she is so darn contagious! Me and my family love her and despite not being able to talk she is a pivotal member of our entire family (Who could forget the Christmas she played Harry Houdini and dragged the whole entire Christmas dinner on the floor!)
However the unfortunate truth is that while Annie is magnificent she is still severely disabled and therefore vulnerable. When my parents had her they were as much used to this whole new life that was thrust at them as, you, reader of this page (unless you have a relative with a chromosome disorder and then you will know what it is like).
The Charity
That is where Unique comes into play. I will take the words directly from the horse’s mouth:
Unique is a source of information and support to families and individuals affected by any rare chromosome disorder and to the professionals who work with them. Unique is a UK-based charity but welcomes members worldwide. Membership of Unique is free but the group receives no government funding and is heavily reliant on donations and fundraising to continue its work. Please help us in whatever way you can.
This was taken from Unique site (http://www.rarechromo.co.uk/html/home.asp). My family can vouch for this charities work as they have been a big help throughout what has been a difficult life for my family, my parents and most of all Annie.
The Plan
At the start of August 2010, me and my friend Gary will be cycling 874 miles from Lands End to John'O Groats. I will be cycling for Unique, he will be cycling for the Cystic Fibrosis charity (he is riding for another fantastic person that has been hit with a nasty and undeserved condition, in this case CF).
We will ride for the people we love to contribute to the bigger picture; that is to help out other people who are also loved that have the same conditions as my sister and my friend. All we both ask is for you to give up a small amount of cash (or large if you’re feeling like Scrooge after his three visits). This will not only make this epic trek worthwhile but will support people that are like you and me, but are weighed down by something they could never have changed.
The Plea
We hear on the radio and see on the T.V. horrendous act committed by nasty people. Sometimes you almost believe there is no good in the world. However the truth is there are far more good people than bad. The very fact that you are checking out this site means you’re probably at least a half decent person ;D so go on! 1 pound 2 pound 3 pound 4! Any bit of pig iron will make a difference in the end! And me and Gaz will love you for it! So will Unique and CF, so will my mum, so will my dad, so will my family, so will the parents of my friend, so will his family...The list goes on and the goodness spreads, we can solve world peace, but let’s do this first!
A MASSIVE P.S any businesses that want to help aid us on are journey contact me @ mailto:rlcarroll1990@hotmail.co.uk
To get to Gary's site use this link:
