Braaaapp!!!

Paul is going to take part in a 24 hour endurance race on his beloved Husky, and we thought it was a fantastic opportunity to raise some money for a charity supporting a cause close to our hearts. The NSPKU supports people living with PKU. As most of you know our wonderful Reuben has Phenylketonuria(PKU), a metabolic disease which was discovered at 11 days old when the resullts of his heel prick test were done.

Reuben must follow a very strict low protein diet in order for him to develop normally and live his life to the full.

Reubens body does not produce a chemical that breaks down one of the amino acids of protein, phenylanaline(Phe). We take Roo’s blood weekly and send it off to ensure that the levels of Phe in his blood are safe and it also helps his dieticians calculate how much protein he can have a day. Alongside his low protein diet, most of which is prescription foods, Reuben must take supplements, to provide him with all the protein he needs to develop, but without the Phenyanaline.

Supplements are not exactly nice tasting, and for a three year old, understanding the importance of taking them isnt something that Roo has grasped yet. Earlier this year he had to have a Nasal Gastric tube fitted in order for us to ‘force’ feed his supplement, which as you can imagine was not fun for him and also meant a lot of restrictions on his life at that time.

Reuben is a happy, funny, bright little three year old, who has an adoring big brother and parents who would do anything to make sure he lives the healthiest, happiest and fun filled life he can.

The future for PKU patients is looking bright, drugs are being made, though not yet availible in the UK, we hope that sometime in Reubens life something will be there to help make managing PKU a bit easier.

If there is one thing Reuben absolutely loves it is motorbikes, even better still, his wonderful dad on a motorbike, so what better way to raise money for a charity helping our little man.

Please have alook at the NSPKU sote below for any information on PKU and how they support patients.

http://www.nspku.org

And here is the race info for those interested!

http://dawntoduskenduro.co.uk

Thank you for reading and thank you for any amount you are able to donate.

Thank you,

Love Tabitha and Paul