Hello and thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.

I will be running 5 half marathon's in 2018 and need your help and support to complete them :) 

I am running to increase awareness and raise much needed funds for the Encephalitis Society. 

The Half Marathons will include the 5 places I have lived/ that are special to me;

Liverpool Rock n' Roll Half Marathon 20th May 2018

London Richmond Half Marathon 16th September 2018

Bristol Half Marathon 23rd September 2018

Bournemouth Half Marathon 7th October 2018

Finishing back in my home town

N2N Northumberland to Newcastle Half Marathon October 2018.

(I've added a 6th Half Marathon Bournemouth Bay Half Marathon 8th April 2018!!!)

I will be running in memory and support of my dear friend Ann who sadly passed away in October. I've known Ann for 26 years, one of the most loving, kind hearted and genuine people I've ever met.  Ann's daughter Vanya is my best friend and we jointly decides that we wanted to continue Ann's commitment to educate others by raising awareness and funds.

Myself and Ann both took part in the Great North Run in 2016. Ann pushing wheelchair the full distance. The following year, although fighting her own battles and being unwell, greeted me with a home made lemon drizzle cake and tea following the Great north run '17.This was the sort of person Ann was... caring, selfless and kind hearted. So it was logical for me to make running the main part of this challenge.

Ann's chosen charity was Encephalitis Society and she strived to increase people's awareness of Encephalitis and increase support and funding for those living with its devastating side affects. Ann's daughter, Vanya's sister, Vanessa became very ill with Encephalitis as a baby, and was left in a coma for several weeks. It wasn't until Vanessa was 16 that doctors recognised that Vanessa had been living with an aquired brain injury caused by Encephalitis and that she had sustained extensive frontal lobe damage.

Vanessa is now 33, she needs support daily from carers to help maintain an independent life. Vanessa has to deal with the challenges left from encephalitis daily, which includes difficulty with problem solving, spontaneity, memory, language, initiation, judgement, impulse control, and social behaviours. Vanessa also deals with regular seizures and anxiety/ depression as a result. Without the education awareness and support Encephalitis Society give to families, Vanessa and her family would be left to deal with all these issues alone. For many years this was the reality, until Ann gained support from Encephalitis Society. This has helped Ann and her family to gain the support to help meet Vanessa's needs and so that she can live as independently as possible.

This is why funds and awareness for this condition are so desperately needed. 

500,000 people worldwide are affected by encephalitis every year, 80% of people don’t know what encephalitis is. This lack of awareness causes those affected to be in a constant battle for support and funding. 

Encephalitis is a swelling of the brain caused by infection, or by the immune system wrongly attacking the brain and can cause long term brain damage. Anyone at any age can be affected by Encephalitis.
For this reason I’m running to raise awareness and raise some money for the charities committed to assisting those affected.

Thank you all for reading, your support means a lot to myself and Ann's family.

I will definitely be thinking of home made lemon drizzle cake and tea to get me through!

Thank You for taking the time to read-

Jodie

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