Hello! Thank you for visiting.

My son, Theo (6) was diagnosed with a rare autoimmune condition called Scleroderma 2 years ago.

Scleroderma can affect anyone of any age, can cause physical disability and it can be life threatening. The skin, joints, tendons and internal organs can all be involved. It affects the body's connective tissues and because it's an autoimmune condition, it means the body is being attacked by its own immune system.

It affects everyone differently and it's not possible to predict the symptoms an individual with Scleroderma may experience. There is currently no cure for Scleroderma.

The type of Scleroderma that Theo has is localised and on his face. It's called morphea (or sometimes en coup de sabre, as typical for any nemesis, it likes to be known by many names).

Around 3 in a million children in the UK are diagnosed with this type of Scleroderma every year. We hope we are lucky in that it appears to be progressing very slowly and so far it remains stable. It looks a little bit like he's been struck by lightening on his forehead and chin, so he's our own little real life Harry Potter.

Our hope is that it will burn itself out completely over time and spread no further - but there are no guarantees with Scleroderma as so little is understood about it.

Not all children or adults are as lucky as Theo has been so far. Reading other people's stories who suffer from Scleroderma or have loved ones with the condition has been heartbreaking and humbling. 

The Scleroderma Society works to increase awareness, provide support for individuals and their families and fund medical research to ultimately find a cure.

Please, if you can donate it will make a difference.

* Anyone who has ever seen me run knows I'm not a natural - think Verbal Kint in The Usual Suspects** - so it will be slow running / a little jogging. I did enter a half marathon once before but didn't do anywhere near enough training (preferring a more sedentary training schedule which included a lot of Game of Thrones watching), and chickened out. However, you'll be pleased to know if you do decide to sponsor me, I have done a lot more training with an excellent soundtrack, so this time I will be ready to run.

Theo featured above on a hay bale, along with his younger sister Cassie who didn't want to be left out!

** section amended so I don't give away the ending of The Usual Suspects, which previously I TOTALLY did