Story
A few of you will remember that in late 2005, I raised £2,000 for Save the Children by swimming across the Sun Moon Lake in Taiwan (pictured here). At that time the swim was 3.3km or roughly 2 miles and I completed it in 55 minutes.
It is now time for the new challenge and this one is significantly more daunting. A friend (and fellow Lotus owner), Stewart Rush has appealed for help to raise money for Action Duchenne, a National Charity raising funds to find a cure for Duchenne muscular dystrophy. All funds raised will go directly to research and not to administration fees.
Duchenne is a severe muscle wasting disease that affects mainly boys and without treatment most of these young men are completely paralysed by their early teens and die by their late teens or early 20s. More details are at the end of this.
Stewarts son, Joe (currently 6 years old) has this disease.
THE CHALLENGE:
On the 4th Oct '08 at the Wycombe Sports Centre, 20 competitors including Stewart and myself are going to attempt to swim 1 mile on the hour, every hour, for 24 consecutive hours! We will burn between 8000 and 11500 calories each (equivalent to 15 roast dinners), hence sustaining food intake and keeping it down is going to be a further essential challenge!
With each individual person swimming further than the English Channel, we're also hoping that during this mammoth challenge we claim ourselves a new world record - that of 'covering the most miles by a team in any one 24 hour period' - 480 miles!!!
PLEASE SUPPORT US AND HELP SAVE THESE KIDS LIVES.
THANKS
BARRY
WHAT IS DUCHENNE MUSCULAR DYSTROPHY?
Duchenne muscular dystrophy is a genetic disorder caused by an error in the dystrophin gene. The condition causes progressive muscle weakness as the muscle cells break down and die.
Duchenne muscular dystrophy is a rare condition. About 100 boys are born with the condition in the UK each year and there are about 1,500 boys with the disorder living in the country at any one time.
Duchenne muscular dystrophy, named after the doctor who first studied this specific condition in the 1800s, mainly affects boys, with extremely rare exceptions.
Most affected boys show the first symptoms when they are aged between one and three. The features include:
* being unable to run or jump as well as their peers
* a difficulty climbing stairs
* a difficulty getting up from the floor
As they get older and the condition progresses they may be unable to walk as far or as fast as other children, occasionally even falling down. Some boys may also have learning and/or behavioural difficulties which start to show at this stage.
WHY ACTION DUCHENNE?
Action Duchenne (Formerly PPUK) exclusively funds research for a cure and promotes campaigns for better medical care for Duchenne and Becker Muscular Dystrophy. Duchenne is so severe that young men are totally paralysed by late teens and die young from respiratory or heart failure. Your donations and support will help us end this tragic waste of young lives.