Call me crazy, but I will be running the 2024 London Marathon in aid of SMA UK. Spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) is a genetic disease affecting the central nervous system, peripheral nervous system, and voluntary muscle movement - a genetic disease that is very close to my family and myself.
Most of the nerve cells that control muscles are located in the spinal cord, which accounts for the word spinal in the name of the disease. SMA is muscular because its primary effect is on muscles, which don’t receive signals from these nerve cells. Atrophy is the medical term for getting smaller, which is what generally happens to muscles when they’re not stimulated by nerve cells. This could happen to a specific set of muscles in the body, such as the quadriceps, or some to all of the muscles.
SMA involves the loss of nerve cells called motor neurons in the spinal cord and is classified as a motor neuron disease.
My older brother George suffers from SMA and it has held him back from doing many of the things that he loves, ever since being diagnosed around the the age of 17; in George’s case, the condition affects his quadriceps. I have always said, if I were to take on a challenge such as the marathon, it would be in aid of SMA research and in the name of a brighter future for him and so many others.
George is 31 now, and in great health - however, this isn't the case for thousands of other sufferers of this rare and still rather unknown condition.
Currently, there is no cure for SMA, and I know that it affects so many people in such life-changing ways, both physically and mentally. By running this marathon, I will be running it for George, and for the thousands of others with SMA that would love to take on this challenge but, due to their condition, are unable to. I want to raise awareness of SMA, and the importance of funding continued research to find a cure for a brighter future for all those affected.
Call me crazy, but I will be running the 2024 London Marathon in aid of SMA UK. Spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) is a genetic disease affecting the central nervous system, peripheral nervous system, and voluntary muscle movement - a genetic disease that is very close to my family and myself.
Most of the nerve cells that control muscles are located in the spinal cord, which accounts for the word spinal in the name of the disease. SMA is muscular because its primary effect is on muscles, which don’t receive signals from these nerve cells. Atrophy is the medical term for getting smaller, which is what generally happens to muscles when they’re not stimulated by nerve cells. This could happen to a specific set of muscles in the body, such as the quadriceps, or some to all of the muscles.
SMA involves the loss of nerve cells called motor neurons in the spinal cord and is classified as a motor neuron disease.
My older brother George suffers from SMA and it has held him back from doing many of the things that he loves, ever since being diagnosed around the the age of 17; in George’s case, the condition affects his quadriceps. I have always said, if I were to take on a challenge such as the marathon, it would be in aid of SMA research and in the name of a brighter future for him and so many others.
George is 31 now, and in great health - however, this isn't the case for thousands of other sufferers of this rare and still rather unknown condition.
Currently, there is no cure for SMA, and I know that it affects so many people in such life-changing ways, both physically and mentally. By running this marathon, I will be running it for George, and for the thousands of others with SMA that would love to take on this challenge but, due to their condition, are unable to. I want to raise awareness of SMA, and the importance of funding continued research to find a cure for a brighter future for all those affected.
