Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.

Back in Sept 2020 my mum, Julie Ogle, finally succumbed to the life-long problems associated with her ITP condition, an autoimmune disease in which the body mistakenly identifies its own platelets as foreign agents and destroys them. The onset of ITP can follow on from a virus, a vaccination, or certain medications, but for most people the cause is unknown.

In the UK around 4,000 people have ITP at any one time. In most cases the body is able to rectify itself and the ITP symptoms simply go away, but for some, like my mum, they can develop chronic ITP, a condition which requires lifelong care. As there is currently no known cure for ITP, the best doctors can do is attempt to alleviate the symptoms with various drugs and platelet transfusions. 

As a way of honouring my mum and raising awareness about ITP, I'm planning on walking 833 km along one of the old pilgrim routes, the Camino del Norte in Spain, which runs from Irun by the French border, to Santiago de Compostela near the Atlantic coast. By donating to this cause you are helping to raise funds for the ITP Support Association, a charity based in the UK. I will start my journey on the 27th April, and aim to finish sometime early June. 

Please help me reach my goal and in turn provide some much needed support for the many people who suffer from chronic ITP.