On September 7th Mat's Babes will be taking part in the Thames Bridge Challenge. This involves walking for 25K crossing the bridges along the Thames as we go. This is to raise money for SRUK,  a charity that raises funds for people who have a chronic illness called Scleroderma, this condition also affects my 19 year old son, who will also turn 20 on the 7th September. The team consists of myself,  Joanna Barry, Catherine Wall, Gemma Walker, Becky Hayward Sargent and Bethany Sargent. We are all family raising money for a good cause and hopefully a cure.

Mathew was diagnosed with Scleroderma when he was 9 and has undergone 10 years of tests and operations. Scleroderma symptoms differ from person to person, each one has a different quirk, if you like. Mathew lives every day with symptoms which include Raynauds ( lack of circulation to the extremities), he has severe acid reflux, this has affected his esophagus and he has had numerous endoscopies to stretch it so food can go down sometimes this was as often as once every two months. He gets chronic fatigue and some days doesn't leave the house. He enjoys going out with friends and to the cinema but it does take a toll on his body. 

Scleroderma is a rare, chronic disease of the immune system, blood vessels and connective tissue. 2.5 million people worldwide have Scleroderma and in the UK there are 12,000 people diagnosed. It is a autoimmune condition, meaning the immune system becomes overactive and attacks healthy tissue in the body. The name of the condition comes form the Greek 'slcero' for hard and 'derma' for skin. This hardening of the skin can be one of the first noticeable symptoms of the condition, as the body produces too much collagen.This excess of collagen can affect the skin, joints, tendons and internal organs. It causes scarring and stops the affected parts of the body from functioning normally.The symptoms of scleroderma vary for each person, and the severity depends greatly on which parts of the body are affected. As yet there isn't  cure just treatment of the symptoms but with awareness and fundraising we can hope for a better outcome for people living with this condition every day

Thank you for taking the time to read this and donating every penny counts and will make a difference to many lives.

.If you would like to find out more about Scleroderma and Sclerderma and Raynauds UK (SRUK) then please click on this link www.sruk.co.uk  Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving - they'll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they'll send your money directly to the charity. So it's the most efficient way to donate - saving time and cutting costs for the charity.