Allan Lawrie
The Big Walk - 286 miles in 15 days!
Fundraising for University of Sheffield
Story
Thanks for taking the time to visit my Big Walk JustGiving page. More information about The Big Walk can be found atwww.shef.ac.uk/big-walk
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The Big Walk combines involves 20 alumni, staff and friends will walk the full 268 miles of the Pennine Way over 14 days. On the 15th and final day the Staff Challenge will see individuals and teams from the University walk from Edale to Sheffield covering 18 miles. In total my feet will cover 286 miles in 15 days!
Why am I doing this?
Many of you will know that my own research is focused on trying to better understand and develop new treatments for a life-shortening disease called pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH).
PAH is a rare but devastating condition that often affects the young, particularly young females of childbearing age. The disease is particularly difficult to diagnose and requires referral to a specialist centre.
PAH begins when tiny arteries in the lungs become narrowed or blocked. As this progresses through the lungs this puts enormous strain on the heart as it works harder to pump blood through the lungs. PAH is a very serious condition that becomes progressively worse, causing the heart muscle to weaken and eventually fail. Ultimately, the disease is fatal without a lung transplant.
Current medical therapies can alleviate symptoms and, at best, slow progression but there is currently no cure for PAH. Sadly, most of the 500 or so patients diagnosed annually in the UK die from progressive heart failure within 5 years, with an annual mortality of 15% every year. This is a worse prognosis than most cancers.
Sheffield is a major international centre for the diagnosis, treatment and research of this condition. We are already making exciting discoveries that we hope will lead to better treatments and ultimately defeat this condition but we need help! The money we raise from this event will help us develop a new clinical research programme and accelerate our research to develop and test new treatments so as we can hopefully make them available for patients as quickly as possible.
Thank you for supporting The Big Walk, together we can make a real difference to the lives of people with pulmonary arterial hypertension.
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