A dad from Stanford-le-Hope, was so grateful for the support given to him and his wife when their son was diagnosed with a rare liver disease, that he has raised over £6000 for Children’s Liver Disease Foundation (CLDF) by running the London Marathon.
“Finding out that Freddie had a rare liver disease was a real shock and really hard for me and my wife to accept, particularly when early surgery failed, and he had to have a liver transplant when he was just eight months old”, says Alan 31, a customer service manager at Exolum. “But the team at CLDF provided us with great support and understanding of how everything would work. It was really helpful to me and Hannah and I know that they will be there for Freddie as he grows up and that’s really important too.
“So, I wanted to do something to give back and, as the London Marathon is the ultimate challenge event in the UK, I decided I’d like to take it on. I had done half-marathons before but nothing on this scale so I knew it would be mentally and physically challenging. But I think that’s necessary in order to encourage donations.
“I hoped to raise £2,000 and thanks to the local community I’ve more than doubled that. I did a cricket match at Upminster Cricket Club, where I’m a member, which raised over £2K alone and I have great friends and family who are very supportive. They have been on the Freddie journey with us as well, so I think they wanted to help me out as much as possible.
“As I expected, the marathon itself was very tough. By mile 11, both of my calves started cramping – but after all the support I had received I wasn’t going to give up and I got to the end in over 6 hours!”
Rebecca Cooper, chief executive of Children’s Liver Disease Foundation commented: “CLDF is the only UK charity dedicated to fighting all childhood liver diseases, by providing information and emotional support, funds for research and a voice for all those affected. In order to do this however, we rely on voluntary donations, so Alan’s achievement means a great deal to us. It’s a truly fantastic fundraising effort and the money he has raised means we can continue to be there for families like his throughout the UK.
You can still support Alan by going to Children’s Liver Disease Foundation: Alan Ison’s London Marathon Fundraising Page (enthuse.com)
