Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.

My name is Ben  Gutsell and I am 9. On September 7th I will be doing the Crowborough Kids Triathlon  which means I will be swimming 100m then cycling,1800m and ending with a 1000m run.

I am raising money for LAP Research UK because my Dad’s friend Andrew has been in Kings College Hospital for over 4 months suffering from Acute Pancreatis which is  a disease the doctors still know very little about and I want to give them as much money as possible to help with their research.

This is why ...

Wednesday 3 April started off pretty well for Andrew. A round of golf in the morning followed by “the best bag of chips ever” at lunchtime. Soon after that he took a turn for the worse – much worse.

Andrew was struck down with agonising abdominal pains and was taken to Pembury hospital with flashing blue lights and sirens. Pretty quickly he was diagnosed with acute pancreatitis – a life threatening disease. By the weekend everything looked grim but things were working in his favour. His age and lifestyle meant he had a fighting chance if he could get the best possible care. He was placed in an induced coma and transferred to Kings College Hospital in South London.

As I write, (July 24th), 4 months and one baby later, he is still there having been treated and brought through the life threatening part of this dreadful illness. He still has a long way to go and exactly when he will be able to move back to Pembury hospital and then home is not yet known but it will take a while yet.

About 50% of cases of acute pancreatitis are caused by gall stones. Another 25% by alcohol consumption. Amazingly in this day and age, the other 25% (which Andrew falls into) are totally unknown. If more was known about this mystery 25% then maybe Andrew would have been able to avoid the disease or be treated more effectively.

LAP Research UK is “The only charity in the UK dedicated to the study of liver, pancreatic and biliary disease” and with your help I want to raise some money to aid their research.

So on September 7th I will be doing the Crowborough Kids Triathlon. So please give as generously as you possibly can, not for me or indeed directly for Andrew – but to fund research into a little understood disease and how it can be treated.

So please dig deep and donate now.

Thank you

Ben Gutsell