Sir – Just before writing this I completed my latest training run of 19 miles in preparation for the Virgin London Marathon on April 25.
I have never taken on something so emotionally and physically challenging in all my life and the reason I am going to do it is I’m running in memory of my brother, Martyn, who was 19 when he suddenly passed away in July 2006.
Mart died of Myocarditis, which is a form of Sudden Adult Death Syndrome (SADS), basically a sudden cardiac arrest. Mart was a fit, healthy 19-year-old with no signs of ill health up until he died.
I had never heard of SADS really before Mart died, but I was surprised to hear that 12 healthy and fit young people die of SADS per week in the UK – 12 different families experience what my family have gone through every week; the loss is incredibly hard and has left a hole in our family.
And the worst thing is that lots of these deaths can be avoided by providing simply ECG tests. Since Mart left us we, as a family, have got heavily involved in a charity called Cardiac Risk in the Young (CRY), who do a fantastic job in highlighting SADS and providing mobile screening events around the country. With the funds my family has raised, with the help of everyone’s generosity, we recently held a cardiac screening weekend in Bude, which was a great success and we plan to make it an annual event.
The photograph of Mart and I reproduced here was taken the day before Mart died, a picture of health don’t you think? We had just taken part in a local fun run in Swindon. Two weeks later I was speaking at his funeral; it still takes my breath away when I think about it.
My motivation is my dearest bro who I can feel with me every step of the way. So when people say, ‘how do you run that far’ when I tell them that I’m doing the marathon, I smile at them and think to myself that it’s fine because I’m spending time with my Bro because for every step that the running gets tougher, I think how lucky I am to be here and Mart’s cheeky face pushes me through the pain.
If you would like to know more information about what CRY do then please go to http://www.c-r-y.org.uk. If you would like to sponsor me in my run for Mart, then please go to http://www.justgiving.com/inmemorytomart
I am grateful for any donation received.
charlotte Luckett, Bideford
