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Student runs Sheffield Half Marathon to raise awareness of mum’s disease
Tuesday, 5th Jan 2010 - 12:34pm
When most teenagers finish their A-Levels, they feel relief, excitement and joy. But even with an offer from Cambridge University, Silverdale student Kirsty didn’t feel like celebrating.
At the end of months of hard work, Kirsty’s parents, Philip and Mandy, had to explain that her mum had been diagnosed with Motor Neurone Disease (MND), a secret they had been keeping from her while she finished her exams.
But following help and support from MND Association South Yorkshire last year, Kirsty is saying thanks by pulling on her running shoes between study sessions to train for the SIG Insulations Sheffield Half Marathon. With her uncle, Bryan Westerman, from Aston, and her school friend Grace Owen, from Mosborough, the group hope to raise money and awareness for the Association.
Kirsty said: “I knew something was wrong while I was revising. Mum was having tests in the hospital and nurses mentioned her symptoms to me, but I didn’t understand the seriousness of them.
“When they did tell me, I didn’t really know what MND was. It took me a few months to come to terms with mum having it, but in hindsight I’m glad they held back from telling me.”
Kirsty left Silverdale High School with four A’s at A-Level, and successfully got onto her history course at Cambridge University’s Magdalene College.
“We’re a really close family. I’m an only child and mum and I used to do lots of things together like art and craft when she was well enough,” Kirsty added.
MND is a progressive disease that attacks motor neurones, leading to weakness and wasting of muscles. It affects 5,000 people in UK at any one time. Mandy cannot swallow food and drink so now must be fed through a tube in her stomach. She has trouble walking, sometimes it is difficult for her to breathe and her speech is slurred making communication difficult.
Kirsty said: “It was difficult to tell friends what was wrong with mum. I would have to explain what MND is to them because like me, they didn’t know much about it. Hopefully doing the Sheffield Half Marathon will raise some more awareness of the disease and of South Yorkshire MND Association, because they’ve been really helpful.”
The MND Association is the only organisation in the country supporting people with MND and those who care for them.
The Association funds and promotes research to understand what causes MND, how to diagnose it and how to effectively treat it. It also provides support and advice so people with the disease and those who care for them can achieve the highest quality of life possible.
South Yorkshire MND Association funded a stair lift for Mandy’s home and a Lightwriter to communicate her speech.
When Kirsty is home from her studies, she takes her mum to MND Association South Yorkshire meetings where people dealing with the disease come together.
“It’s nice to meet and talk to people in similar situations. It’s hard to find people that understand because it’s such a rare condition, but there, you don’t need to explain.
“I really love it at Cambridge. It’s nice that the terms are only eight weeks long, I come straight home and spend time with my mum and I probably spend as much time at home as I do at university.”
Mandy said: “I don't want to even think how I would have managed without the MND Association South Yorkshire. The Assosiation Visitor, Olga Bannister, is always on hand for any help and assistance I need.
“Fundraising is so important, it is a rare disease that nobody knows about it until it affects someone close to them. Every little bit of funding goes towards toward helping people like me and goes to research to find a cure for this terrible disease.
“I am immensely proud of Kirsty, she's not a sporty girl but she's getting those running shoes on and doing her stuff. Kirsty is the most beautiful and thoughtful daughter Philip and I could ever have wished for.”
Ann Quinn, branch secretary at the MND Association South Yorkshire, said: “MND is often referred to as the ‘forgotten disease’ as government funding is so limited, so as Kirsty rightly says, we need to raise awareness and funds to help more people.”
