Stephen Jess

Stephen's Hatfield Half Marathon page

Fundraising for Societi, The UK Foundation for Kawasaki Disease

Story

Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.

On Sunday 17th September, I will be running the Hatfield Half Marathon to raise awareness and money for Kawasaki Disease. This is the main cause of heart disease in children but there is very little awareness about it.

Theo was diagnosed with KD back in March and only due to the early diagnosis and swift treatment by the doctors at Princess Alexandra Hospital we are hopeful that he has not suffered any long term damage to his heart. He will be monitored regularly for the rest of his life but this is a small price to pay when faced with what could have happened. We will probably never fully appreciate just how lucky we have been. However this is not the case for many children who are not diagnosed and treated on time. It is a life changing disease and fatal for some. We had never heard of it before March and it appears that very few people know the symptoms to look for. Please look at the Societi link www.societi.org.uk for further information and share this with any parents. If this can save one more child then it is well worth the effort. Any money you can spare to sponsor me will go towards much needed research into the disease as children affected by KD today face the same poor prospects as they did 20 years ago. This has to change!

The KawasakiKid Facebook page gives details about different families dealing with children who have long term issues from having KD and not being treated on time. Lucy is campaigning nationally to raise awareness and I'm hoping this can go some way to supporting her and Stan on their campaign.

I will complete my training over the next week and am aiming for a time under 1hr 35mins so all donations will help make the final few miles more bearable!!

Many thanks,

Stephen

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About the charity

Societi, The UK Foundation for Kawasaki Disease

Verified by JustGiving

RCN 1173755

www.societi.org.uk

Kawasaki disease is the leading cause of acquired heart disease in children in the UK and the western world. It's time we changed that. We have an enormous task to do. But we are going to do it. TOGETHER we will. Join us and help us protect tiny hearts. You can make a difference. Awareness of this often pernicious disease is currently poor. Slow diagnosis and delayed treatment of Kawasaki Disease can cause serious, life-long health issues. Children affected by Kawasaki Disease have excellent chances of a good recovery with timely diagnosis and the correct treatment. At Societi we know that recognising Kawasaki Disease early is THE transformational opportunity to prevent what can be devastating effects from Kawasaki Disease. Kawasaki Disease has lots of symptoms in common with other childhood illnesses so it is often misdiagnosed - this means lifelong heart damage for too many children. Each year in the UK there are more cases of Kawasaki Disease than bacterial meningitis! Everyone would spot meningitis and know what to do, because of brilliant awareness raising work by MRT. We need everyone to recognise Kawasaki Disease too.