Abseil For Mito
David Evans (79) and Susan Raven (54) are abseiling down the Northampton National Lift Tower in order to raise money for The Lily Foundation
David Evans (79) and Susan Raven (54) are abseiling down the Northampton National Lift Tower in order to raise money for The Lily Foundation
Hi I' Daniel, I suffer from a rare genetic disease called MELAS which is a type of mitochondrial disease.
I suffer daily from agonising muscle pains, cramps, spasms, hearing loss and chronic fatigue along with a long list of other things i would love your help in raising some money for the charity involved in the research into this condition and the support that they give to their users and help me to raise the awareness of mitochondrial disease
David Evans (my father in law) and Sue Raven (my sister in law) are both abseiling off The National Lift Tower in Northampton on the 14th September to raise money for The Lily Foundation
Help Daniel Rayner raise money to support The Lily Foundation
www.justgiving.com
Information about the Tower
The National Lift Tower based in Northampton is an iconic feat of architecture. At a staggering 418 feet, it is now the largest abseil tower in the world.
Information about The Lily Foundation
The charity was established in 2007 by Liz Curtis after the loss of her baby daughter, Lily, to mitochondrial disease at only 8 months old.
After Lily passed away, Liz discovered there was very little in the way of information or support for families affected by the disease, and what began after Lily’s funeral as an informal network of family and friends soon grew into a national charity.
The charity’s mission is to raise funds for the following three purposes – to offer ongoing support to patients and families affected by the disease; to educate and raise public awareness about mitochondrial diseases and to fund ongoing research to advance the search for treatments and an eventual cure.
Since 2007 the charity has raised over £10 million and offers support to over 1200 families across the UK.
What is Mitochondrial Disease
Every other day in the UK, a baby is born who may develop serious mitochondrial disease, or ‘mito’. Mito is a complex and difficult-to-diagnose genetic disorder that can affect any organ at any time. It’s a cruel disease that impacts people in very different ways, often affecting babies and young children. The long-term prognosis for sufferers is poor, and there is currently no cure.
Mitochondrial dysfunction has been identified as a key factor in other, more common, diseases including dementia, Parkinson’s disease, epilepsy and cancer. The research The Lily Foundation funds and supports therefore has the potential to benefit not only patients of mitochondrial disease but millions of others too. That’s why, despite being a little-known condition, mitochondrial disease could be the key to some of the most important breakthroughs of our time.
Our mitochondria are essentially the tiny organelles within our cells that generate most of the energy we require to function. Without healthy mitochondria, cells cannot function properly; the results can be debilitating and eventually life-ending.