Please support a fantastic cause
Ged Briggs – a member of the Carlisle United groundstaff – will be running the London Marathon in April for a very special cause.
Please support him if you can.
Here, in his words, is Jak's story ...
After suffering from epilepsy since the age of three, with complex partial seizures which come and go in clusters and have never been able to be controlled with medication, seven year old Jak was referred to GOSH.
His epilepsy was impacting on his life and during the bad spells Jak had to be followed about for fear of dropping (generally it was 10-20 times a day) and injuring himself. Clubs and social events stopped due to exhaustion and learning through this period was difficult with seizure impact.
Sleep was also interrupted by constant seizures however, through it all, he carried on with mainstream schooling and he didn’t allow the condition to take over his life or beat him.
Jak went through many hospital stays, and various tests and scans, but the trigger for the seizures could not be found. The team at GOSH gave the option of Invasive Monitoring (opening his head and monitoring direct on his brain for one week) and this was completed early in January 2012.
The fantastic news for Jak was that the trigger area was discovered and a damaged 5cm area of his brain removed. The hope now is that the seizures will either completely stop or, at the very least, significantly reduce and Jak is back home and ready to move on with his life.
Whatever happens the family agree that the team at GOSH are nothing short of amazing. The care and dedication given to Jak was wonderful and everyone connected with this brave little boy now wants to help the hospital to continue to save and change lives for the better.
Ged will be running the marathon for GOSH to help raise much needed funds to help children like Jak and their families through difficult times in their lives. All funds raised will go towards the equipment, accommodation and facilities required to do this.
Ged’s training regime is already in full flight as he uses the Carlisle United Football Club gym facilities and Target Wrestling – both organisations are fully behind this fantastic cause.
To make donations please visit:
No matter how small - every penny helps.