This is a photo of my son, Oscar, with his best friend Alex.  Oscar and Alex have known each other since they were just a few weeks old and are more like brothers than friends.  They are very different boys and like all best buddies fight as much as they play but they wouldn’t be without one another and always look out for each other. 

So what?  Just a normal friendship between two seven year olds…well no.  You see, Alex suffers from an extremely rare condition called Chronic Granulomatous Disorder (CGD) which affects only four in every million people.  Sufferers of CGD have a faulty bone marrow gene which means that certain white blood cells don’t function properly.  Their condition means that they can’t fight off fungal and bacterial infections and have to have constant medication to keep infection at bay.  Serious problems can, and do, arise, resulting in prolonged stays in hospital.  This is a life threatening condition and the only hopes for cure lie with bone marrow transplants or gene replacement therapy. Clinical trials for gene replacement therapy are underway but much more work is needed before it can become a regular treatment option.

It’s a big deal and I’m running the Run To The Beat half marathon on 5th October to raise money for the CGD Research Trust which raises funds for research into improved treatments and cure for CGD and also provides much needed support for families affected by it. 

This isn’t just some random charity, it’s personal - please sponsor me however much you can afford.

Thanks,
Chris xxx (and Alex and Oscar too!)