On the 28 September 2011 my father Rupert died from Vasculitis, a rare autoimmune disease that he had been battling with for 4 years. Due to the rarity of the disease he had been ill for a few years before he was correctly diagnosed. During this time the disease systematically attacked every organ in his body. When he did eventually find out what he had, he got great support from Vasculitis UK, a charity set up to support sufferers of the disease and to provide funding into research.

On the 1 April 2012 I will be running the Reading Half Marathon with my uncle Felix and my cousins India and Daisy to raise money for Vasculitis UK. 

Vasculitis UK provides a national network of support groups, offering support to sufferers, their families and friends both at home and abroad. They also support research into the causes of and treatments for vasculitis at the Birmingham University Hospital UK and Addenbrookes Hospital UK.

10% of all income to the charity is spent on printing and posting, 15% on information booklets and leaflets. All the rest goes to fund research. There are no offices and no salaries. All the money donated is used to very good effect. They have donated over £125,000 to fund research over the last 5 years. All support groups are run totally by volunteers. There is 24 hour help line available to everyone.

For my Dad X