Welcome to my justgiving page!!

So, why am I climbing Mount Kilimanjaro(I have asked myself that question a few times now, especially when I am climbing up little mountains here in the UK!!), my very good friend from school, Marie Gregor has a gorgeous little girl called Elizabeth. Elizabeth will be 4 this October and she suffers from Dravet's syndrome and Autism. I hadnt seen Marie for nearly 18 years and we got back in touch last year. She told me about Elizabeth and how she was hoping to get a support dog to help Elizabeth.

After watching Chris Moyles climb Kilimanjaro,I decided I would love to do that and after actually deciding to go ahead and do (its one thing to say you would love to do something and another to actually do it!! eek!!)I called Marie and said I would do it for Elizabeth, to raise awareness of her condidtion and let Marie pick the charity I would raise money for.

She picked Support Dogs.. due to the fact she is waiting for one for Elizabeth.

The attached link tells you Elizabeths story x

http://www.gazettelive.co.uk/news/teesside-news/2009/09/23/guisborough-family-s-hunt-to-help-loving-tot-with-dravets-syndrome-84229-24755538/

I just wanted to tell you a little bit about Dravet's and Autism

Dravet syndrome, also called severe myoclonic epilepsy of infancy (SMEI), is a severe form of epilepsy.  It appears during the first year of life with frequent febrile seizures – fever-related seizures that, by definition, are rare beyond age 5.  Later, other types of seizures typically arise, including myoclonus (involuntary muscle spasms).  Status epilepticus – a state of continuous seizure requiring emergency medical care – also may occur.  Children with Dravet syndrome typically experience poor development of language and motor skills, hyperactivity, and difficulty relating to others. 

In 30 to 80 percent of cases, Dravet syndrome is caused by defects in a gene required for the proper function of brain cells.  Borderline SMEI (SMEB) and another type of infant-onset epilepsy called generalized epilepsy with febrile seizures plus (GEFS+) are caused by defects in the same gene.  In GEFS+, febrile seizures may persist beyond age 5.

Autism is a lifelong developmental disability. It is part of the autism spectrum and is sometimes referred to as an autism spectrum disorder, or an ASD. The word 'spectrum' is used because, while all people with autism share three main areas of difficulty, their condition will affect them in very different ways. Some are able to live relatively 'everyday' lives; others will require a lifetime of specialist support.

The three main areas of difficulty which all people with autism share are sometimes known as the 'triad of impairments'. They are:

• difficulty with social communication
• difficulty with social interaction
• difficulty with social imagination.

These are described in more detail below.

It can be hard to create awareness of autism as people with the condition do not 'look' disabled: parents of children with autism often say that other people simply think their child is naughty; while adults find that they are misunderstood.

All people with autism can benefit from a timely diagnosis and access to appropriate services and support.

Thats about it really, I am doing lots of different things to raise money for the charity apart from the climb, I have ran the Tees Pride 10k in September and raised £1017 on the race night plus Barclaycard match funded us on the night up to £750.

Thanks again for visiting my page, all donations, no matter how BIG or small are appreciated :))