Charlotte's Marathon, in Memory of Phillip Maile

Firstly, thank you so much for clicking on this page. Some of you may know that in September 2022 whilst in Ireland on a work trip, I received a phone call from my step-mum (Vanessa) to say that my Dad had been taken into hospital whilst on holiday in Turkey. He had grazed his leg whilst visiting a waterfall. They covered the wound in a waterproof dressing and followed the advice of the pharmacist that swimming in the sea would be fine as the wound was so minor and salt water is beneficial. This basic first aid turned out to be the start of our nightmare with my dad picking up an extremely rare bacteria from the sea called Vibrio Vulnificus. As a result of the bacteria, he was diagnosed with Necrotising Faciitis, or otherwise known as "the flesh eating disease".

Now I won't go through all of the detail on here as - and you can imagine just from hearing the name- it's not something that I, or my family want to relive. But the whole experience was nothing short of a nightmare from which none of us could wake. My Sister, brother and I flew to Turkey to join Vanessa to be with our Dad, as well as his younger brother, William, who flew from Australia and our step-sisters.

After contracting Necrotising Faciitis (NF), patients will generally have a very short window to try and receive medical help before the disease will take over. Our incredibly strong and brave Papa Bear fought his battle for 5 long weeks, in and out of consciousness in a foreign hospital where we were only able to be with him for 2 minutes a day. As his family, this was unbearable torture but it was absolutely nothing in comparison to what he was going through.

Following his leg amputation (which was performed as an attempt to try and stop the spread of the infection) and after a valiant fight to say the very least- we knew that he was going. We spent his last hours with him playing him his favourite songs in his ear, telling him the Liverpool score against Rangers (7-1 to Liverpool!) and calling his father and other siblings in Australia to have a chat and say goodbye. We held his hand and stroked his head, till the end. 13th October 2022.

Following Dad's death, we did some more research into NF and realised just how rare it is and how little is known about it. Whilst researching we came across the Lee Sparks NF Foundation, run by the wonderful Dee Cartledge who lost her son to NF.

The foundation's aim is to support survivors and bereaved family and friends of those affected by NF. It also assists in medical research to help deepen our understanding of this disease with an aim to help people recognise the symptoms sooner and how best to treat it.

Through this foundation Sarah (my older sister) and I have met some of the most inspiring people. From the survivors who still face huge battles every single day as consequence of contracting disease, to the bereaved relatives who know exactly how we feel.

So this is why I am running a Marathon (WTF!) in Abingdon on 20th October to raise money for this wonderful foundation. Oh, I'm also running a half marathon in Cheltenham on 1st September to make sure I can do the full... (Seriously, WTF.)

Dad loved running, in fact the first time he tried to die in front of me was when we were out on a run along the seafront and he had a heart attack... (Loved the drama, did Dad - shout out to St George's hospital in London for sorting him a new valve) But in seriousness, this run and the heart attack made us both make sure we made more time for each other and so I'm strangely grateful for that?!

So in conclusion, please, please help me raise some money for this incredible foundation. Please help me by cheering me on, either at the races or when I'm training and pounding the streets of Witney... I really don't think I know what I've let myself in for.

And, whilst I know he's up there shaking his head at my dark humour in this message, he's also saying 'Go for it Sweetheart, that's my girl.'

Thank you for reading

C x