Touched by Kindness

Most people reading my blog will know that besides my writing, I run a support group for people suffering from Stickler Syndrome. One of our members Emma Sykes whose son has Stickler Syndrome and is now registered blind, has put a team together to endure and sponsor the 'Three Peaks Challenge' on 11-12 September 2010. They will be climbing Ben Nevis, Scafell Pike and Snowdon all in a period of 24 hours! What a challenge! The gruelling climb will start at 12 noon on Saturday with a 5 hour hike to Ben Nevis, then they will drive down to Scafell Pike for a 4 and a half hour hike, through the night and ending at 3am, finally finishing off their marathon with Snowdon starting at 8am through to mid-day on the Sunday. The team consists of members and staff from Broadoak Construction who are currently based on a project in London. They are Iain (Project Manager), Jeff and Joss (Site Managers), Emma (Health and Safety), Carl (QS) and Lukas (Site Security). Good luck to them all!

All proceeds will go towards the next SSSG conference that we hope to hold in May 2011. These conferences are vitally important to our members as they have the opportunity to learn about current research, talk to the medical professionals about the condition and their worries, but far more importantly they are able to meet and network with fellow sufferers, and at this conference we hope to hold a mini conference within the main conference for the youngsters. This is most important so that they can discuss their hopes and fears for the future, peer pressure, relationships, self esteem and much more.

Daniel, pictured above on the far right in a pink top at our last conference, was born with badly torn retinas and had to undergo emergency surgery when he was under a year old, the first of many operations this young man has to face. Emma is very grateful for finding the support group when she most needed it, and I feel very privileged that she has chosen to support us in this way. I have seen Daniel grow from a toddler, into a very capable happy teenager. Like many of our youngsters now and again Daniel gets upset and frustrated with his condition, and who can blame him, especially as he will never be able to drive. This is such a disadvantage in today's society, and I am sure will be one of the 'hot subjects' on the conference agenda.

If you can, please donate generously to this worthy cause, as any amount will help the group. The charity is run solely on donations, so our members will benefit directly. The more we can collect the cheaper we will be able to make the weekend, so that it will be accessable to more families, especially those on low incomes through no fault of their own. Any messages of luck and encouragement to the team will also be gratefully received, because they will definitely need all the support they can get! If you feel moved enough to donate anything, however small, please visit Emma's page at http://www.justgiving.com/Emma-Sykes. Thank you.