Melody McLaren
Help us fundraise for The National Brain Appeal @ London Marathon 2019
Fundraising for The National Brain Appeal
Story
As many of you know, my husband Ian McLaren had Deep Brain Stimulation surgery in 2009 to mitigate his Parkinson's Disease symptoms at the world-leading National Neurology & Neurosurgery Hospital at Queen Square, London. The surgery and care which Ian receives has transformed both our lives. I have run the London Marathon twice (in 2010 and 2015) to raise money (via the National Brain Appeal) to support the Hospital's fantastic clinical and research work.
Now I want to support a new Innovation Fund (https://www.nationalbrainappeal.org/what-we-do/current-appeals/innovation-fund/) which enables The National Brain Appeal to award
grants of between £50,000 and £150,000 to the world-leading clinical and research teams at Queen Square. This is essential because one of the major problems faced by NHS clinicians and researchers today is the lack of initial funding to get pioneering ideas quickly off the ground. The Innovation Fund will ensure that ideas go quickly from ‘bench to bedside’ so that clear progress for patients can be achieved - not just those in the UK but for people with a neurological condition everywhere in the world.
The Hospital is searching for Ambassadors for Innovation to support this initiative. Ambassadors will be people who can commit to donating a gift of £2,500 per year to the Innovation Fund over a three-year period.
With 1 in 6 of us being diagnosed with a neurological condition - including stroke, Parkinson’s disease, brain cancer, epilepsy, brain injury, dementia, prion disease, Huntington’s disease, multiple sclerosis and a host of neuromuscular conditions - we need to keep these ground-breaking innovations coming which could improve all our lives.
Please check out and consider supporting the National Hospital's outstanding work, either with a one-off donation or by becoming an Innovation Fund Ambassador.