Helen Goddard (C & Alb 98) is seeking to raise £2000 by running the 2024 London Marathon in aid of the National Brain Appeal.

Her fundraising is highly personal; her mother, Sharon, is afflicted with Frontal Temporal Dementia (FTD). FTD is a rare form of dementia which affects personality, behaviour and language. Helen describes its affects as follows,

“Sharon is a wife, mother, friend, sister, aunt, nurse, midwife, teacher. She defines the words kind, caring, compassionate, loving, supportive, creative, motivated, empathetic and generally wonderful. FTD has robbed her and us of those defining words.

Dementia doesn’t just affect the person diagnosed and my goodness did it break us all.The whole family struggled but we are thankful that we had a supportive NHS team who told us about The Rare Dementia Society. We have been and continue to be supported both emotionally and practically.

Mum is now in a residential home who care and help her to enjoy every day. Thank you Windlesham Manor!

So why am I running a marathon for The National Brain Appeal – pretty obvious really…… they have supported us all through a difficult time with kindness – just like Mum would.”

Helen has already raised over £1000 and needs your help to smash his target. Please consider supporting her by making a donation on his Just Giving page. Please donate what you can to this amazing cause so that The National Brain Appeal can continue their work.

Support Helen here

About the National Brain Appeal

The National Brain Appeal (formerly known as The National Hospital Development Foundation) is the charity dedicated to raising vital funds for The National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, and the UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology.

The NBA’s vision is to improve the outcome and quality of life for the one in six affected by a neurological condition. The NBA does this by funding pioneering research, providing access to the best technology for expert diagnosis and treatment, and training tomorrow’s clinicians.

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