Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.

As some may be aware I was diagnosed with Pulmonary Sarcoidosis nearly 3 years ago.

Sarcoidosis (also called sarcoid) is a condition where cells in your body clump together to make small lumps called granulomas. These granulomas can develop in any part of your body. They are most commonly found in the lungs and the lymph glands which drain the lungs. They can also affect your skin, heart, nervous system, liver, spleen, muscles, nose, sinuses and eyes. Sarciodosis is a rare condtion and effects around 1 in 10000 people in the UK.

I will never forget the day I had a call from my GP to talk to me about my blood test results which I had 3 days previous to try and find out why I was feeling so exhausted. My GP told me I had to go straight to hospital for further blood test as my white cell count was dangerously high! After further blood tests and a chest X-Ray (which appered abnormal) I was admitted to hospital. The stay in hospital lasted for a week where I had a full CT scan which showed granulomas in my lungs and an enlarged spleen. At that time Cancer was not ruled out but I would have to have a lung biopsy to confirm. I was able to go home after a week but then there was a 2 week wait for the biopsy appointment to come through (the longest 2 weeks of my life) where Sarcoidosis was confirmed. Fortunatley I have been one of the lucky ones as I have responded well to treatment and am no longer on any medication with trips to the hospital now down to once per year. Some people are not so lucky and can suffer for the rest of thier life.

Support from Gloucester Royal Hospital and friends has been great but a special mention to Lou and the rest of the family who have been wonderful support through a very testing time.

Funding for research on Sarciodosis is limited so 12 months ago I agreed to run at this years Great North Run to rasie money for the Sarcoidosis charity SILA. My training is going so well I have decided to take it up a level and compete in this years Brighton Marathon, Gloucester Marathon and finish off with the Great North Run in September. Any donations will go direct to SILA and will help to improve diagnosis, new treatments and hopfully rasie awareness on Sarcoidosis.

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