Supported causes: John Hibbs marathon for Lupus

My marathon walk for Lupus by John Hibbs


I will be taking part in the London marathon 2010 in aid of Lupus West Midlands, a charity which supports sufferers of the little known disease Lupus. In 2008, my sister was diagnosed with Lupus after many tests and the presentation of many furrowed brows the doctors came to the conclusion that the symptoms she had been displaying: extreme lethargy, inflamed joints and a rash which spread across her body was in fact this debilitating disease.

While running the marathon is a great challenge for anyone who sets out on the journey, I am attempting to do it with arthritic knees. Each training session helps me to move closer towards my goal of raising over £1,000 for Lupus West Midlands. Hitting that finish line inspires me to keep pounding the pathways and tow paths.

The money that I raise will be used to continue funding the Lupus UK specialist nurse and the Lupus UK research co-ordinator, both based at Queen Elizabeth/City Hospitals, Birmingham - the first fully patient-funded posts of their kind in the UK. Currently there are groups in place to support sufferers and their families but as the disease remains undiagnosed for many, the fight goes on to raise the profile of Lupus. In an attempt to do this I contacted Sarah Brown, the P.M’s wife via ‘Twitter’. Amazingly, she responded and invited myself and the charity, Lupus UK, along to a reception at Downing Street. After hitting the national press, the word is certainly spreading about Lupus and as my charity work continues Wendy’s very generous contributions are certainly much appreciated!

If you would like to support me to raise money for Lupus West Midlands you can do so by logging onto my site www.hibbsy.com