Robert's page

Robert Apple is raising money for Tree of Hope
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Asics Greater Manchester Marathon 2019 · 7 April 2019 ·

We're #DoingItForBen
Campaign by Tree of Hope (RCN 1149254 In Scotland SC042611)
Fundraising for Therapies

Story

Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.

Those of you who asked me after Milton Keynes if I'd run another marathon got a very short and sharp response, normally "NO" sometimes "Definitely NO".

But here I am signed up for the Manchester Marathon on 7th April 2019.

You may be asking what has changed my mind? To put it simply, Ben and his amazing parents.

Ben was born at 28 weeks. At four days old, he underwent a life-saving operation. Whilst in hospital, the neonatal department discovered four cysts on his brain, placing him at high risk of cerebral palsy. By his first birthday, Ben wasn't reaching some milestones; despite making huge steps in other ways, his gross motor skills simply weren't what they should be. He was diagnosed with spastic diplegic cerebral palsy.

Ben needs a Mollii Suit, a pioneering treatment for people like Ben with cerebral palsy and other motor impairments to reduce pain and improve mobility – an upfront cost of over £4000, plus £1000 upgrades to the suit as Ben grows. In addition to this, when Ben turns three his parents will take him to the Peto Institute in Hungary, for conductive education – an intensive program of physio treatment he needs in order to lead a more independent life. This treatment, and the additional travel and living expenses during visits, is likely to cost thousands of pounds.

The NHS simply does not provide the level and type of treatment that will enable Ben to walk. Currently Ben's parents pay for private weekly physiotherapy – treatment that will continue for the rest of his life – but what is required at this crucial stage of his development will cost many thousands more. Ben's parents have put everything they have into this. But time really is of the essence – cerebral palsy is a condition where early intervention can be the difference between avoidable and painful operations, reliance on walkers, chairs and carers; and Ben living a happy, healthy and independent life.

If you've ever met Ben you'll know he's an amazing young man and I want to do as much as I can to help him have a better quality of life.

Funds raised will be administered by Tree of Hope and I think it's only right that a small amount of the donations goes to them so they can help other families in the way we're helping Ben, so 10% of what we raise will go to them and the rest to Ben's treatments. Obviously if you want to you can increase your donation by 10% to cover that.

Thank you so much for your support, if you want to keep up-to-date with my training (who wouldn't?) you can follow me on Strava, using  https://www.strava.com/athletes/robapple This time round I'm going for 4h30 which will be a massive PB.

Rob




Donation summary

Total
£485.00
+ £105.00 Gift Aid
Online
£485.00
Offline
£0.00

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