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Closed 03/01/2019

£0

raised of £1,000 target by 0 supporters

Catherine Gauci

Weʼve raised £0 to help fund research in to Huntington's disease

: Cardiff, UK
: Health and medical
: Closed on Thursday, 3rd January 2019

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Story

Huntington's disease (HD) is a rare condition affecting 1 in 12,000 people in the UK, including my nan, Pat.

Most people haven't heard of it, but it is a degenerative condition meaning the damage it does to the brain gets progressively worse over time and can affect movement, thinking, judgement and behaviour.

I've watched the disease slowly take away many of the things that made my nan who she is, like her sense of humour. It's also meant she needs 24 hour care and struggles to say more than a few words.

HD is a heritable condition, which means my mum might also have it (symptoms usually start in your 40s or 50s). If my mum has it, I might have it. If I have it, it could also affect one or both of my children, who are 4 and 10 months old.

There's currently no cure for this cruel and ultimately deadly disease, and the lack of awareness means support for HD lags behind other neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer's and Parkinson's.

However, there's more research going on than ever and genuine hope for developing new treatments in the future.

I want to contribute to this progress by raising money to support research into HD at Cardiff University.

Welsh Three Peaks Challenge

I'm currently training for the Welsh Three Peaks Challenge, which includes a total walking distance of 17 miles (27.4km) and an ascent of 2334 metres (7657ft), in less than 24-hours.

Wish me luck and please give generously!