I became ill for the first time in September 2011. For months I struggled to get out of bed, walk to lectures, carry shopping. Life became a horrible struggle, every single day. I spent months unable to keep food down and dazed on painkillers.

Thanks to the advice of my doctors, and other Lupus sufferers, I'm now going to train for my first half marathon. If I hadn't become as ill as I was, this would never, ever have happened.

On top of raising funds, I want to raise awareness about Lupus - particularly for new sufferers. There were days when I truly believed the life I'd had was over, and would never come back. I was wrong, and will be indebted for life to the people who helped me through that period.

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving – they’ll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they’ll send your money directly to the charity. So it’s the most efficient way to donate – saving time and cutting costs for the charity.

So please dig deep and donate now: someone like me might get their life back, because of the work of Lupus UK.

All my love,

S xx