I am running the London Landmarks Half Marathon in April for the Royal Free Charity in memory of my Dad, John Campbell, who died one year ago on 9th February, 2024.

My Dad was diagnosed with a rare disease called Amyloidosis in 2015. This is a condition where an abnormal protein, amyloid, builds up in organs and tissues, causing damage or altered function. Eventually it attacks the internal organs until they start shutting down, which is ultimately fatal. At this current moment in time there is no cure.

Dad initially started having completely separate ailments over a number of years, from heart problems, to stomach problems, to hearing problems and was treated individually for each of them. His symptoms started to worsen and we started to notice a deterioration, such as him losing his balance or taking longer to walk or cycle places. It was a mystery and it was only his cardiologist who suggested that there could be an underlying condition causing all of them. In 2015 he was sent up to the National Amyloidosis Centre at Royal Free Hospital in London who confirmed he had the condition. Six months later he went back and they said the situation had got so bad they couldn’t let him go home.

He was admitted to the Royal Free in January of 2016 and they saved his life, restoring his heart to a functioning condition. He was the moved to University College Hospital London where he was treated with a form of chemotherapy to try and destroy the amyloid cells. He was there for 3 months while they stabilised him.

Then he was given a “miracle drug” that would give him a new lease of life. This was worth millions of pounds as it was at the cutting edge of discovery in this area. This was paid for by a special fund from the Welsh government. The drug almost entirely slowed down the amaloid production. Despite not being able to reverse the irreparable damage already done (permanent hearing loss, loss of mobility, heart damage) he was given 8 more years of life. Because of this he was able to see me get married and the birth of 3 of my children (he missed my 4th by a few days but I was able to tell him before he died we’d name his middle name John in his memory).

Over these years, Dad’s heart and kidneys gradually declined, while the doctors balanced treatment for both. He would come up to the Royal Free at Belsize Park every year for his annual check up with the National Amyloidosis Centre, and I would always meet up for dinner and a drink with him the night before. Eventually they couldn’t balance the heart and kidneys any longer and they both went into failure just after Christmas last year, 8 years after he was first admitted. Dad died peacefully on 9th February 2024, surrounded by his family.

I am so grateful for the 8 years of life that the treatment my Dad received from the National Amyloidosis Centre (NAC) gave us. It is such a cruel condition and I wouldn’t wish it on anyone.

The painful irony is my Dad was very fit - cycling tens of miles to work and back every day and always taking us on long walks. If he hadn’t have been so fit he most likely would not have survived as long as he did.

As I got into running over recent years, Dad would encourage me (and tell me I wasn’t fast enough!). So I thought it would only be right to run in his memory (and hope my time does justice!)

Please donate what you can, and help the NAC find a cure for this awful disease for good.