Simon Nuttall
Simon's Ho Chi Minh to Angkor Wat Cycle page
Fundraising for Action Duchenne
Story
Hi, firstly thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page. I am part of a group of 12 people, "Friends of Toby", who are taking on this challenge. We have all paid for the trip so any monies donated will go directly to the charity.
It involves approximately 500km of Cycling between Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam, past the rice-paddies and alongside the Mekong Delta waterways to Angkor Wat in Cambodia.
The days in the saddle will be hot, humid and long, with the occasional tropical downpour!
Why are we doing this? To raise money for the Charity "Action Duchenne" which is trying to find a cure for the severe genetic muscle wasting disease Duchenne. It mainly affects boys and leads to significant shortening of life expectancy in sufferers.
Our Team Leader is Nick Heathcote and below is his story, which we are supporting;
My name is Nick Heathcote and I'm a Captain with Thomson Airways.
Sam is a healthy 10 year old boy, with a normal life expectancy. His passion is Rugby.
He has a fabulous sense of humour, impeccable manners and a charismatic personality that everyone warms to. He idolises his Mum, Dad and Sisters and when he grows older, Sam would like to follow in Dads' footsteps and become an airline pilot.
Toby is also 10 year old boy, his passion is cars.
He also has a fabulous sense of humour, impeccable manners and an infectious personality. He idolises his Mum Dad and sister too and when he grows older, would also like to follow in Mums' footsteps and become an airline pilot.
Toby and Sam are the best of friends.
Two young, happy, 10 year old friends, different families, with parents involved in the same careers..one difference......
Sadly life's lottery has dealt a blow to Toby's dreams and aspirations as at the age of 5 he was diagnosed with the Duchenne strain of Muscular Dystrophy which affects the muscles causing muscle weakness, primarily near the trunk of the body, around the hips and shoulders. DMD is a very serious condition and it does shorten life. Because the muscle weakness increases gradually over the years, complications eventually develop. The breathing or heart problems usually become more serious for older teenagers or people in their 20's. The outlook will improve with advances in treatment.
Sam asked his Mum recently if his birthday party invitations could ask for donations to Toby's charity in lieu of any presents. An admirable gesture for such a young man approaching his 10th birthday.
I am proud to say that Sam is my son.
He has inspired me and my friends to publicise Toby's debilitating, cruel disease. In October 2014, along with 11 of my colleagues and friends we will cycle through Vietnam and Cambodia, a distance of around 500kms
We have payed for the trip with our own monies, so we guarantee you that every penny donated will go to Toby's charity.
Your generosity will help fund research and campaign for better standards of care for all people living with DMD.
I suppose that human nature dictates, when someone close develops an illness, one closes ranks and helps in whatever way they can and yet keep other just as worth while charities at a distance, should they not, in ones naivety affect you.
Perhaps that's a lesson that all charities mean something to someone and Toby's charity means everything to us.
Please sponsor us.
Thank-you so much for reading this page and any donation you can make to the cause will be hugely appreciated by all of us.
With very Best Wishes,
Simon and the "Friends of Toby" (Nick, Kathryn, Dave, Rob, Shay, Michael, Helena, Lara, Rupert, Rob & Annabel)
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