In October 2015 my family lost an amazing husband and father to Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis. Dad was 67. He was diagnosed in July 2015.
In his short 3 month battle Dad never complained, his cheeky grin and wicked sense of humour never failed him to the end - he even wanted Congac fed into his respirator in his final days! I was lucky enough to fly to my home country of New Zealand to spend time with him in August before he was moved to a hospice - time I will always cherish. During this time I also witnessed how horrible IPF is, and that is why I am raising money.
Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis progressively creates permanent scar tissue in the lungs which restricts their function to transmit oxygen throughout the body. Today we still don’t know many of the factors that cause this debilitating disease, and there is no cure short of complete lung transplants. Current methods of treatment involve management of symptoms - 5 year survival rates range between 20-40% leaving a much higher mortality rate than many cancers. This needs to change.
I want to raise money to donate to Action For Pulmonary Fibrosis for the express purpose of funding research into IPF so that others will not suffer and struggle like Dad did. So instead of drinking alcohol in 2017, I will take any money that I would spend and donate it to this cause. Please do the same - don’t buy me a drink. Sponsor me the cost of one instead.