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This is my first marathon, and whilst I got a place in the London Marathon ballot, I'm running for Addison's Disease Self Help Group (ADSHG).  

My good friend Pippa has had Addison's Disease since she was 15, a rare and potentially fatal endocrine condition which leaves patients steroid dependent for life.  Addison's is where the adrenal glands stop working - tricky because they produce essential hormones such as cortisol, the 'stress hormone', which control blood pressure, electrolytes, immune system, blood sugar - many of the things you need to stay alive.

Whilst Addison's is an 'invisible' disease, steroid dependency is acute and anyone with Addison's will feel unwell within hours of a missed dosed and could be critically ill if steroid deprivation continued.  However, you can also live well provided you take over the day-to-day management of all those things that your body used to do automatically.  To do that you need advice and information, and in addition to hospital teams, the ADSHG is the main source of that advice.

The medical charity has made such a difference to Pippa's treatment and many others with Addison's Disease.  The charity brings together best current practice and the latest research.  Current campaigns focus on all ambulances carrying the lifesaving drug needed and encouraging our Nursing Schools to train their students in the time critical needs of a steroid dependent patient.

Patient health ranges from relatively straightforward cases who respond readily to standard treatment, to complicated cases in poor health with life threatening episodes.  Patients can benefit enormously from the online resources, the literature produced and the campaigns waged by the charity.  Pippa recently became a lab rat completing an NHS research trial of pulsatile subcutaneous hydrocortisone replacement therapy (aka steroid pulsatile infusion pump) supported by the charity.  This therapy could be a huge advancement in the medical treatments available for Addison's disease, significantly improving quality of life.

When living with an 'invisible' and rare condition such as Addison's, the education and awareness medical charities such as the ADSHG provide are vital.  Every year an average of 30 people in England and Wales die from adrenal crisis, undertreated or undiagnosed Addison's (source: Office of National Statistics).  Almost all of the deaths were avoidable where better education and awareness could you have saved a life.  Addison's affects around 140 people in every million, about 8,500 in the UK - making it roughly three hundred times more rare than diabetes.

I'm running this race to raise awareness not just money.  Enouraging everyone, including paramedics, nurses and doctors to make them aware of www.addisons.org.uk and their twitter @AddisonsUK and Facebook page.  Or if you know someone with Addisons who hasn't found the group yet, please tell them too.

If you can please donate to this medical charity, which has made such a difference to many.  I promise my best to run in return.

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving – they’ll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they’ll send your money directly to the charity. So it’s the most efficient way to donate – saving time and cutting costs for the charity.