Three weeks after leaving the UK to work in Malaysia for a year I received the news that mum was really not very well. My, very new at the time, friends looked after me, and took me to the airport so that I could fly home and say goodbye. Now me and these silly people I've stuck to are running together to try and help prevent this happening to other families.

Mum's death was sudden and unexpected. She was pronounced brain dead before I arrived, but I was able to spend the day with her before she went for organ donation.

Because of her organ donation, there are people's lives that have already been directly improved because of what we have been through, but I still want as much good to come out of this situation as possible. I can't change what has happened, but I can try and change what hasn't happened yet.

I love you mum, and I always will. xxx

I am running the Simplyhealth Great North Run with #TeamMRF because I want to help bring a world free from meningitis and septicaemia one step closer. Your donations will enable Meningitis Research Foundation to fund research into the prevention, detection and treatment of meningitis and septicaemia, provide life-saving awareness information and support people who have lost a loved one or are coping with after effects.Thank you for taking the time to look at my page. Together, we will defeat meningitis.