Hi,

The little cutie in my profile photo is my two year old daughter Madeleine.

If you can look past her gorgeous eyes and beautiful smile,you may notice she has a birthmark. But this birthmark really isn’t like your typical patch of darker skin – it’s called a Congenital Melanocytic Naevus (CMN).

Unfortunately, CMNs can be really nasty. They can lead tomalignant melanomas, neurological issues, skin problems and social stigmas (e.g. anxiety, bullying etc.). 

It’s difficult to tell if or how Maddy will be affected by her CMN –it’s still developing. She is getting a MRI in a couple of months to see if any neurological issues are present and to gauge the potential for
melanoma sites in her brain.

Even if the MRI gives her the thumbs up, there’s still a concern that the CMN will thicken over time and she may need surgery to maintain eyelid functionality. Then after this, and especially if the CMN darkens and becomes more prominent, there’s aesthetic aspect as well. Every
parent worries about bullying or any other social concerns when it comes to their kids.

Anyhoot – why am I telling you all this? A great support group called Caring Matters Now (UK), which help support families, raise awareness and funds, are currently running the 7 Challenges in 7 Continents. For the Australian leg, they’ve teamed up with another great support group, Nevus Support Australia (Oz) to run in the Winery Marathon in Pokolbin in July.

Here it gets silly. I’ve decided to run (or more accurately run-walk) this marathon. My goal is to raise awareness of CMN, so please click on the links and have a read; but also to raise some cash for research in the
UK. If you have a few bucks to spare, that’ll be greatly appreciated. Really I just want to do something because I feel pretty bloody useless otherwise and I think all parents agree – you want to do something. I figured if Maddy has a heap of issues in front of her, the least I can do is put myself through some training hardship for a few months and then 6 hours of running/walking torture.

Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.

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