Thank you for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page. I am running my first ever Marathon in Brighton on the12th September 2021 to raise money and awareness for Crohn’s & Colitis UK, a charity which provides help and support with the aim to ultimately find a cure to those affected by this disease.

Crohn's disease is a chronic disorder that causes inflammation of the digestive or gastrointestinal (GI) tract. Ulcerative colitis on the other hand, affects only the colon. Both diseases are painful, seldom-discussed lifelong conditions affecting more than 500,000 people in the UK. The physical and emotional impact that the disease has on people is largely hidden, and causes stigma, fear and isolation, it is thought that many people with the condition go undiagnosed and suffer in silence.

My friend and colleague Michael Lacey suffers from this condition and this is his story:

" In 2019 I started having health issues, I lost nearly 7 stone in two weeks, felt continuously tired and had excruciating stomach pains. I had blood tests which came back normal and tried dietary changes which made no difference. I was referred for a colonoscopy and the registrar confirmed I had Crohn’s Disease. My large bowel had started to perforate and an emergency appointment saved my life as I had a large infected abscess and then sepsis. Due to chronic pain I opted to have a stoma bag fitted and due to complications spent 4 months in hospital. I struggled to walk and felt hopeless. I made it through this tough time with help from family, friends and colleagues. We had to cancel our wedding in Oct 2019 due to me being hospitalised, but now I’m a happily married man and father to a 6 week baby boy.

I received specialist treatments at St. Mark’s in Harrow where I had a proctocolectomy and due to the damage caused by Crohn I have a stoma bag for life. I would like to say a massive THANK YOU to all the doctors, nurses and surgeons there.

While researching the disease my then fiancé and I came across Crohn’s & Colitis UK, this charity raises awareness and provides support for suffers, and carry out research to understand why our immune systems start to attack our bodies like it does with Crohn. From the charity's  ‘Not All Disabilities Are Visible’ campaign to the ‘In My Shoes’ App which lets people who don’t suffer with IBD spend a day in the life of someone with Crohn’s.

I hope by telling my story it will raise awareness and funds for a charity that is very close to my heart.

Much Love

Michael  "

A comprehensive background of the disease can be found at the following sites:

https://www.crohnscolitisfoundation.org/what-is-crohns-disease

https://www.crohnsandcolitis.org.uk/

Thank you in advance for your support and contribution, any donation that you can make will help this cause and will make a difference to someone’s life.

Med Lebari.