Having run the London Marathon this year in aid of the NSPCC, I decided to join other Lindt peeps on the Thames Path Challenge, a 100km walk from Putney to Henley, 8th September, and support a cause close to my heart: a Research Team led by Professor Breban, working on understanding and finding ways of dealing with Ankylosing Spondylitis (AS), a long-term chronic condition that my cousin, Coralie suffers from, in which the spine and other areas of the body become inflamed and very painful.

Having a treatment that helps manage the pain is very difficult because after a while, the body creates antibodies against the treatment itself, which means this is a constant battle. At her worst times? A heartbeat of 110 when resting, highly inflamed articulations preventing her from walking at all….along with social isolation, people not sticking around when things get serious...The notion of time does change.

Coralie is the definition of kindness and positivity. I find her naturally gifted in all things creative, which didn’t surprise me when she took on the project to raise awareness of this unknown condition in a positive way, she wanted to give isolation a lesson and started communicating about SA, sharing regularly with a community she’s created on Facebook, raising awareness of research progress, sport events raising funds towards SA etc. A beautiful video clip was produced in 2015 called ‘Grande Patiente’ (on Youtube), where she slamed about SA, explaining what it’s like to live with it.

So today, I invite you to help me fundraise to help the Research Team of Professor Breban who has dedicated 30 years to SA and the well-being of his patients. He’s extremely touched by the gesture, which is a massive motivation for me to walk through those 100km for those who cannot.

Thank you in advance on behalf of Coralie, Professor Breban and myself.