Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page. I am going to run 10 miles in October, in the Great South Run in Portsmouth, in aid of the Encephalitis Society.

At the age of 16, our son, Nicholas, was cruelly struck down by a completely random virus, which caused encephalitis (inflammation of part of the brain) and brain damage. We have no idea how he caught it, but he was in intensive care for a long while and had to learn to walk and talk and eat and read, and basically Live, all over again.

Unfortunately, the damage was really quite severe and Nick’s whole endocrine system was involved. It lead to epilepsy, bad psychoses in the early days, severe migraines, high blood pressure, hypothyroidism, stomach ulcers, learning difficulties including poor memory, word finding difficulties, poor concentration, poor comprehension, and in more recent years to diabetes, cataracts, tinnitus, partial deafness, and most recently problems with his Pancreas.

It is no wonder that Nick also suffered with serious mental health issues as a result of all that he had to cope with.

Despite these ailments, Nick was resilient, had a great sense of humour, and, against all of the odds, did his best to make the most of his Life. He rode motorbikes, drove cars, loved animals, at one stage was engaged to be married, and lived semi-independently for a long time.

However, unfortunately, Nick’s physical health had continued to decline, especially over the last couple of years, and this really took its toll on him. 

On Friday 13^th July 2018 his body finally said enough was enough, and we take comfort from the fact that he is no longer in physical or emotional pain any more, and is now finally at peace.

Encephalitis is a relatively unknown disease, but can be so seriously debilitating and cruel, as Nicholas found out, that research into the causes and/or treatment has the potential to be massively life-changing for both the patient and their entire family. 

Not only this, but the amount of NHS and public resources that have been consumed by Nicholas, over the last 20 years, because of this illness, have been colossal.

For those of you who know me, running is not an innate skill of mine, especially now that I do not have an Achilles tendon in one of my legs, and I have a torn knee cartilage in the other.

However, if I can help just one more person, or help make things easier for just one more family, then it will amount to my time and your charitable donations very well spent.

Please give generously.

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.