Anne's Marathon

After the London marathon in 2018, I certainly didn’t think I would ever run another marathon but here I am!

On 19th March last year, after another forgotten night due to too much alcohol and having no switch off, I decided enough was enough and from that moment I was never going to touch another alcoholic drink again. To add to this, I made the decision to run daily and after a year of not drinking would run a marathon to celebrate my achievement. Yes crazy! Obviously, I like to punish myself, so I booked a place on the Brighton marathon on 2nd April 2023. My daily running went really well and I only missed a few days, I think I managed it until mid-September, running roughly 5km each day.

In October our family was shaken with the news that Toby had a mass on his spine. After, a lovely holiday in Greece, and on returning to the UK, it was evident that the mass has caused part of his spine to collapse resulting in a fracture on T10 of his spine. After extensive tests, scans and investigations, Toby was referred to Kings College Hospital where he had an operation under the Neuro-Surgical Team to fix the broken bone. It was suspected that a myeloma has caused this damage in his spine, leading to further investigations which then confirmed the diagnosis of Multiple Myeloma (Bone Marrow Cancer). As you can imagine this devastating news was a massive shock to Toby and our family. Once discharged from Kings College Hospital, Toby was referred to Chartwell Unit at Maidstone Hospital to see the haematologist and start four cycles of chemotherapy. Toby is presently on cycle four and doing very well. After completion 'of what will now be five cycles' Toby will go back to Kings College Hospital and undergo the most intensive part of his treatment, a Bone Marrow Transplant. At present this is the unknown but with a positive mind and the continuing support, we are very upbeat that this treatment will be successful and will enable Toby to complete the final 2 cycles of chemotherapy in order to finish his treatment plan.

Back to the subject marathon! Initially this was a personal goal but since Toby’s diagnosis I have decided to not only run for myself, but run and raise some money for Myeloma UK and the Chartwell Unit at Maidstone Hospital where Toby is having his treatment. I have since discussed with the clinical nurse specialist team and asked them to guide me in what the unit needs. This is TBC. Ideally we would like to find something that can make peoples lives slightly easier when going through this treatment. Toby is lucky as he has the support of family and friends, but we are aware that this is not always the case for everyone.

We would be so grateful for any support in raising money for Myeloma UK and the Chartwell Unit. I know life is not easy for many at the moment with the high living costs etc., so please do not feel the pressure to donate, just send me a text of support instead. Either a donation or a text would be so gratefully received.

Lastly, as a result of everything that has happened, I feel I need to mention that my marathon training has not been how I planned! My training started at the beginning of the year so I am certainly not going to break any records, my main aim is to just complete it!

Thank you so much for reading my story and supporting me

Love, always

Anne

xxx