24th April 2016 Virgin Money London Marathon
Oliver Deane completed the marathon in 4:05 raising money for both GAIN and Alzheimer’s Research UK.
Ever Loukaides
In August 2013 I was struck down by GBS which completely paralysed me. I was in hospital for six months and it took another two years of rehabilitation to get me back to some sort of normality. I was so lucky to have such a loving wife, my caring children and my close family and friends to help me through this difficult time.
24 April Southampton Half Marathon
Tony Cummings completed in 2:03
“Around this time a year ago, a good friend of mine was unlucky to get Guillain-Barre syndrome, a condition I’d never heard of. I then witnessed first hand the debilitating impact it has, my friend spent months in hospital and has pretty much had to learn to walk again.”
Tough Muddder Half North – Taflyn Mcloughlin
“It was great fun; so much mud and six miles of it! We managed every obstacle which was great. It’s all about camaraderie – taking help from the person in front then turning and helping that person behind you. Really rather like our GBS journey. I had lots of friends who supported me during my son, Owen’s illness and having seen the effects first hands they were all keen to donate. I was staggered at how much I raised.
Great North Swim 2016 – Michelle Blakely
“Unfortunately due to ill health last year I was unable to take part in the challenge I set myself of completing the one mile event in The Great North Swim in Windermere. I’ve just been the go ahead to start training again so here goes – I’m giving it another go this year and will be raising money for GAIN. For those of you who didn’t know my story, GBS is the illness that paralysed me from the neck down in October 2009. I am one of the lucky ones who made a full recovery, unfortunately this is not always the case. Wish me luck and thank you in advance.”
Congratulations to Michelle for completing the swim on Sunday 12th June this year.
London2Brighton Challenge
Stephanie Urquhart and her walking buddy Kaytie Lee completed the London2Brighton 100km challenge and crossed the Brighton racecourse finish line, together, in a time of 27 hours and 39 minutes. Stephanie, who had GBS in 2005 said “it was an incredible experience and I’ve been truly humbled by so many people giving support and donating and even a few asking questions about the condition itself. I honestly never thought my body would be able to do something like this and feeling pretty darn grateful for a lot of things, even if my robots and rucksack didn’t quite survive!
Four Countries in Four Days
GBS (Miller Fisher) survivor Christopher Burbridge took part in a four day, four country, 250 mile cycle challenge earlier this June. The four days took in the Ardennes region of Belgium, Luxembourg, France and Germany and involved over 20,000 feet of climbing. In total 24 riders took part, raising money for several different charities but Christopher was riding for GAIN is pushing towards £3000, mainly due to friends, work colleagues and a very generous £500 donation from Christopher’s employers, Cordant Group. Christopher would like to thank everybody who has sponsored, supported encouraged, dragged him up hills and through torrential rain. The weather in Belgium was certainly not kind!
I’m going nowhere!
GBS survivor Phil Graham and his wife Janet visited GAIN Head Office at the end of May to present a fabulous cheque, being the proceeds from Phil’s book “I’m going nowhere!” launched in November 2015.
“I am not a professional writer”, said Phil. “My book is written in the style in which I speak. I pull no punches whilst offering highly personal observations of life as a totally dependent patient in a busy NHS hospital and as a slowly improving disabled person following my discharge.”
Of the book sales Janet explained, “the response to I’m Going Nowhere! has exceeded our wildest expectations. Not only have fellow GBS survivors and their families bought books but so have a number of non-GBS readers from around the UK and worldwide.
One step at a time
At the end of September, Les Colley together with his supporters walked from Bromsgrove Hospital to Worcester Royal Hospital in five and a half hours raising over £200.00 for GAIN.
“The day was amazing and I really wanted to raise the profile of this amazing charity” said Les. “They helped me and my family so much through illness. I wanted to do whatever I could for them and hopefully this will raise lots of money for the charity. I want to thank everyone that walked with me too.
Birthday Celebrations
In June two years ago, Allan Reid and Ronald Stalker celebrated their 40th birthdays with a joint party. Guests very kindly made donations enabling Allan to forward a cheque for the generous amount £1100.00.
Coast 2 Coast in a day – Craig Howells
I really enjoyed the ride however it was an extremely hot day which drained most of my energy and no ice cream van in site.
I finished in just over 12 hours and was pleased to be raising some funds for a worthwhile charity such as GAIN. I thank Kelly Hindson for her encouragement and her inspiring fight to live a normal life while dealing with her infliction.
Dragon Ride in the Brecon Beacons – Anthony Price
I was really pleased to have recently raised over £500 for GAIN by completing The Dragon Ride in the Brecon Beacons, South Wales. My Dad was diagnosed with CIDP a few years ago since then I have realised how much people rely on GAIN for information and support to help them cope with these little known diseases. The ride was great fun and tough in equal measure, with fantastic views and steep mountain roads. My Mum and Dad popped along the route with extra bananas and were there to see me over the finish line after 140 miles of riding overall, it was a great day and the fact people were so generous with their sponsorship was a real bonus.
