Firstly, sorry for yet another sponsorship request.  I would love you to take a couple of minutes to read my story and the reason behind my fundraising cause. Thank you.

This year is my Barmitzvah year and I felt it was a perfect time for me to help raise money towards a cause that is very close to my heart. 

Two years ago, my dad, Peter, passed away.  He had been suffering from MND (Motor Neurone Disease) – you may also know it as ALS due to the hugely successful Ice Bucket Challenge a couple of years ago.

I plan to walk a distance of 14km from our home in Mill Hill to Imperial College in Hammersmith, to help raise money towards funding research into this incredibly cruel disease.  The research team at Imperial College in London has a huge commitment to their continued quest for a cure for MND.

What is MND? 

It’s a progressive disease, which causes nerves in the brain and spinal cord to deteriorate.  Over time, muscles are no longer able to receive signals from the brain and become weak and waste away.   A third of people die within a year of being diagnosed and more than half within two years, according to the Motor Neurone Disease Association.

Around 5,000 adults in the UK will have MND at any one time.

Motor neurons help a person to control their actions, including walking, speaking, swallowing, gripping and breathing.  MND can make it impossible for a person to move and function.  They can feel “locked in a failing body”.   A patient’s speech can become slurred and they will struggle to hold objects and therefore feed themselves.

Research into a cure for MND

Currently there is no cure for MND.  Doctors can only help a person feel more comfortable as they become weaker and weaker.

Even though there have been phenomenal advances in understanding the causes of MND, the incredible teams of international researchers, including those led at Imperial College by the inspirational Professor Jackie de Belleroche, still have a momentous challenge ahead.

Please help me to play my very personal part in helping to raise funds to give the research teams, including the one at Imperial College, a very vital financial boost. 

I appreciate you reading my story and about my cause and am grateful in advance of any donation you’re able to give.

From,

Max Norman

If you want to find out more about MND and the amazing
research that is being carried out under the leadership of Professor Jackie de
Belleroche, please follow this link:-

www.imperial.ac.uk/AP/faces/pages/read/Home.jsp?person=j.belleroche&_adf.ctrl-state=1agzxb6x9n_3

or

for more general information about MND, please
follow:-

www.mndassociation.org