A Bushey man taking on the London Marathon to mark a special anniversary and to raise funds for Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH).
Declan Stone, 23, a paralegal, is marking the 10 years since he was a patient at GOSH by joining more than 40,000 runners on Sunday, April 28.
Declan came to the hospital as a 13-year-old with a Spontaneous Brain Haemorrhage, which paralysed the left side of his body.
While Declan still has some weakness in his side, he is fit and healthy and looking forward to completing the challenge of running his first marathon.
Of his milestone, Declan said: “It’s a huge anniversary for me, and usually every year around that date I am conscious of that situation. Now 10 years on, I am looking forward to it and when I think of the progression, I’ve made in 10 years…I’m quite proud of myself.”
By taking on the 26.2-mile challenge, Declan hopes to raise vital funds for GOSHC Charity to support the hospital and the seriously ill children from across the UK who are cared for there.
He plans to put on a pub quiz night for friends and family to help him fundraise.
Of his fundraising efforts, Declan said: “It would be amazing to give something back to a place that gave so much to me. I feel like I am helping in a small way to help a child have a good experience while they’re at GOSH.”
Laura Savory, head of community fundraising at Great Ormond Street Hospital Children’s Charity, said: “We’re really grateful to Declan and all our supporters for taking part in this amazing challenge and we can’t wait to be there on the day to cheer everyone on. With Declan’s help we can make a real difference for to the lives of seriously ill children from across the UK.”
At the time of going to print, Declan had raised £910 of his £2,000 target.
To help donate visit justgiving.com/fundraising/declanrunslondon
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