MSA Trust & Galway Parkinson's Association

On Sunday, October 30, I will run Dublin City Marathon, my 10th marathon, but this will be the first fundraising marathon I will have undertaken. As many of our friends and colleagues know, my wife Debbie was initially diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease / Parkinsonism in January 2020. However, as additional symptoms appeared over the past couple of years, Debbie's diagnosis was changed to Multiple System Atrophy (MSA) earlier this year.

Multiple System Atrophy (MSA) is a rare, incurable, progressive neurological disorder affecting the body's movement, balance, speech & swallow and autonomic functions, including blood pressure, temperature, cardio & respiratory control.

MSA is a cruel and unforgiving disease. This time 3 years ago, Debbie was walking, hiking, cycling & swimming and doing all the things we all take for granted. Today, Debbie mostly uses a wheelchair to get about, with speech and swallow becoming increasingly difficult, and she requires assistance with most daily activities. Despite all this, Debbie still retains an incredible zest for life and smiles and laughs daily.

I/we hope to raise money for two great organisations, The MSA Trust and Galway Parkinson's Association.

Since Debbie was diagnosed with MSA, these two organisations have been enormously helpful. These two charities both run entirely off donations, so we want to be able to do our little bit to help these charities to continue helping those affected by MSA and, hopefully, in the process, create some awareness about Multiple System Atrophy.

Any contribution of any amount will be greatly appreciated, with all the donations to be split 50/50 between The MSA Trust UK & Ireland and Galway Parkinson's Association.

Carpe Diem - Sieze the Day,

Declan & Debbie