Story
<p>Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.</p>
<p>I am running the Chester Marathon on Sunday 9th October. This is an opportunity to support the work of the charity Changing Faces. <a href="http://www.changingfaces.org.uk">http://www.changingfaces.org.uk</a>. </p>
<p>My former colleague Denise Deighton explains the reasons for supporting ‘Changing Faces’.</p>
<p>I’d like to say a ‘big’ thank you to Martin for offering to run the Chester Marathon for the charity ‘Changing Faces’ in honour of my son Billy Mitchell. Mitch and I really appreciate it.</p>
<p><br>Billy is a 4 year old little boy who was born with a rare genetic condition called Apert Syndrome; only 10 children a year are born in the UK with the condition. Apert syndrome is a craniofacial condition affecting primarily the skull and face and also the hands and feet with premature fusing of bones. For those children like Billy who are affected more severely life is even harder. Billy cannot breathe through his nose because of how the condition has affected his anatomy in that area; he therefore has to rely on breathing with the use of a tracheotomy which has been in-situ he was a little baby of 16 weeks old.</p>
<p><br>The children born with this condition have to face years of often major, life threatening operations; it also means that the kids look different to other kids and this is where the work of Changing Faces helps by supporting families and the kids to deal with the constant staring and negative attention that they attract. Probably sounds quite easy to some people but in reality when someone stares at your child and calls them a monster it’s really difficult to know how to react without feeling a whole range of emotions from anger to sadness and more. Changing Faces offer support and advice on how to respond to those situations, what to say and how to formulate a positive reaction that will teach Billy ways to cope with these everyday occurrences himself when he’s a little older. The work they do also involves going into schools to train staff on how to manage situations that may arise within school and playground area. I know the staff at Billy’s school found the session they did invaluable. <br>Their work doesn’t stop at giving advice, take a look at their website and check out the brilliant work they’re involved in.<br><a href="http://www.changingfaces.org.uk/">www.changingfaces.org.uk</a><br>Please support Martin in his run, even if it’s only £1.00 a family could benefit from information on coping with staring; £5.00 offers a telephone session to a child who is being bullied because of their facial disfigurement. Thank you</p>
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