I'm running for those with less muscle power...
Hello,
Thank you for taking the time to visit this page.
As you have found your way here, I am guessing you have either followed a link I have sent you, been bribed enough by me to visit it, or are sick of me begging for you to see what all the fuss is about!
So, let me give you a run-down for the un-initiated:
My name is Jason Baskaran, I am 24 and have three brothers: Jamie, 18, Oliver, 16 and Konnor 15. In the Summer of 1995, Jamie and Oliver 5 and 3 respectively, were diagnosed with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy. The news was a terrible pill to swallow; but little did we know what the condition entailed, and what the prognosis would be the young boys.
Muscular Dystrophy is a genetic muscle wasting condition. The symptoms are characterised by the sufferer's muscles weakening at a progressive and accelerated rate due to the body's inability to produce dystrophin. This unfortunately means that the poor soul affected by the illness will be wheelchair bound by the age of 10, with a grim prognosis for the following years... Simple tasks such as writing, holding a PlayStation controller or giving your sibling a good old fashioned wallop! are difficult at best.
Over the past 14 years, my family and I have done all we can to learn more about the condition and understand what sufferers go through physically and psychologically, as the condition is little known - with no cure or treatments available today.
Having close family members suffering from the condition, we felt it only fitting to try to generate much needed cash for research into possible remedies - from fundraisers including a row-a-thon (20km, ouch!) and a London Marathon (thank you Uncle Bob!).
We also did all we could to promote awareness of the condition - this included media appearances, Jamie & Oliver the stars, of course, in promotional videos, Internet stories and local press - anything to spread the message!
So, the time has come whereby I feel like inflicting a little self punishment, ageing my body at an accelerated rate and generally putting myself through half a year of training and torture to do the London Marathon in 2010 for The Muscular Dystrophy Campaign - to give what I have to good use, for a good cause, for good boys.
My target is £1,500, hitting that would be a massive achievement and I promise to run my hardest, fastest and bestest on the day.
Hopefully our pennies and pounds will mount up and one day we can find a cure or a treatment for this terrible condition. So, please dig deep, donate all that you can - I shall be bringing cakes and goodies soon.
Thanks,
Jason
UPDATE:
27/10/2009 - Happy Birthday Oliver, 17 today - very proud of you!
15/11/2009 - Thank you all for your generous donations, it means a lot to my family and my brothers.
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