Many of you will already know all about my Meniere’s story and what I have been through with this terrible illness but in the past 18 months my health has really improved and now I want to really challenge myself to do something that will really push me (but not too far!). 

It is coming up to 3 years in November since I had my last operation which although stopped the violent vertigo attacks which I was getting every 2-3 weeks (mine were v severe lasting around 6-8 hrs with horrendous vomiting....sorry!) I completely lost all of my hearing in my bad ear and was left with very severe bppv (a different type of vertigo....by the way lots of people think vertigo is to do with the fear of heights but in fact it’s a condition caused within the inner ear that completely messes up your balance). It took me many weeks to regain any balance after my op and I had the worst tinnitus you can imagine, it was terrifying and I was on a huge amount of medication. Gradually as the months went by and I realised I’d never get my hearing back my balance improved but I was still getting violent vertigo if I moved my head in a certain way...once the vertigo started I’d be sofa bound for 3 days unable to stand at all. Bppv is a different type of vertigo to the type I suffered from before my op, it can be caused by head trauma or old age and the operation proved too much for my ear! It took a while but this gradually improved although I still struggle looking up and lying down but in the grand scheme of things this is nothing....I was due to have my bad ear destroyed so it couldn’t send messages to my brain but I cancelled the op the night before as I’d noticed an improvement.

Fast forward to today and I have amazing wireless hearing aids which have transformed my life and I don’t feel nauseous 24/7! Things have dramatically improved for me and having my health back is AMAZING.

This is why I want to run this race, to prove I can and to celebrate being able to when a few years ago there is no way I’d ever have thought I could do this but to also spread awareness of this rare illness which is terribly debilitating and frightening.

So if you haven’t fallen asleep already thank you for taking the time to read my shortened version (really!) of my Meniere’s story and thank you for supporting me. There are many people going through terrible times with this illness, it’s an invisible disease so it’s very easy to think someone looks fine when in fact they are actually going through a horrendous fight behind that facade and trying to cope. Not only is this illness debilitating physically it has a massive impact on a sufferers mental health.

Thanks everyone ❤️

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