The London Marathon

[Gaz]

This is my mate, Simon:

 

 

Who's running tomorrow.

 

Simon is a force of nature.  He's got so much energy, it wouldn't surprise me if he were to turn around at the finish and run back to the start 🙄  He's hoping for a time of 3h 15mins.

 

Simon has epilepsy.  He got to the point a few years back of becoming high risk of 'sudden death' seizures (you don't get many of those!).  With a daughter then in her early teens, after a lot of hospital visits, they worked out he had a trigger point in his brain, so he had a golf ball size part of his brain removed.  Recovery took a good couple of years, and was a rollercoaster for both him and his family, but he's doing well now 👍  Not cured, but much reduced in terms of seriousness and frequency.

 

He did the Brighton Marathon two or three years ago, and had a seizure 1/4 mile from the finish.  He still finished, saying he hadn't run all that, way to not finish!  As I said, force of nature 😎

 

Anyone else running, or got someone close in it?

 

Gaz

(👍Team Simon👍)

 

[skomaz]

8 minutes ago, Gaz said:

This is my mate, Simon:

 

 

Who's running tomorrow.

 

Simon is a force of nature.  He's got so much energy, it wouldn't surprise me if he were to turn around at the finish and run back to the start 🙄  He's hoping for a time of 3h 15mins.

 

Simon has epilepsy.  He got to the point a few years back of becoming high risk of 'sudden death' seizures (you don't get many of those!).  With a daughter then in her early teens, after a lot of hospital visits, they worked out he had a trigger point in his brain, so he had a golf ball size part of his brain removed.  Recovery took a good couple of years, and was a rollercoaster for both him and his family, but he's doing well now 👍  Not cured, but much reduced in terms of seriousness and frequency.

 

He did the Brighton Marathon two or three years ago, and had a seizure 1/4 mile from the finish.  He still finished, saying he hadn't run all that, way to not finish!  As I said, force of nature 😎

 

Anyone else running, or got someone close in it?

 

Gaz

(👍Team Simon👍)

 

 

That's amazing...   I have a friend who is similar in that she has epilepsy but after a couple of car crashes underwent brain surgery that worked...  (In her words the decision to go ahead with it was a 'no brainer').

 

Can't see her doing a marathon though unless it was a marathon nail and hair do session 🤣

Edited 20 April by skomaz

[Gaz]

That reminded me of something that typifies Simon.  He can't drive, due to the epilepsy, so catches a bus to work.  It's a 20 or so mile journey.  When the bus gets to Hailsham, while people are getting on the bus, Simon gets off, gets himself, and the bus driver, a coffee, and gets back on for the rest of the journey 😎

 

I was his line manager for several years, including pre and post surgery.  The surgery effectively re-booted his brain and, as expected, he lost some stuff that he then needed to re-learn.  It hit home to me when he was first allowed out, and went to the pub.  Playing snooker, he didn't know what ball to play next.  All it needed was for someone to say 'blue' and that was it, back in place, and he was off.  That simple explanation of what it was like for him, post surgery still gets to me.

 

G

 

EDIT: I've just noticed one of the people who have sponsored Simon is 'Paul the bus driver' - Kudos 👍👍

Edited 20 April by Gaz
Bus driver being a good egg!

[skomaz]

My daughter has lots of different types of seizures and absences each day due to her epilepsy, we've given up counting them all but when we did it was close to three figures a day.  Some she's perfectly fine after as if nothing happened and others it's like someone has hit the reset button or cleared the cache and settings but there's no logic or consistency to what outcome after which type.

Edited 20 April by skomaz

[BTandSid]

Hope Simon got underway this morning.  Wish him well over the next few hours, weather holding so far 🤞

Years ago there always seemed to be very elderly people out there ‘running’ for charity albeit it took them all day and being in my neck of the woods it gave us food for thought, literally. We reckoned you could walk/run to Greenwich where there’d be somewhere nice to stop for a proper breakfast. Toilet facility. Over Tower Bridge and on to the Isle of Dogs where there was that pub that always had the band playing, convenient time for a lunch stop and a beer. Toilet facility again. Onwards around the East End and on the return back towards central London find somewhere for an afternoon tea. Reckoned we’d be near the finish line at around the 8 hour mark, however, we wouldn’t feel hungry or needing that silver blanket or rehydration . . . .and of course it’d all be for charity. Perhaps another year 😏

[Gaz]

34 minutes ago, BTandSid said:

Hope Simon got underway this morning.  Wish him well over the next few hours, weather holding so far 🤞

 

Thank you, and he did 👍

 

I said I'd be tracking him just to make sure he doesn't hop on a tube! :

 

 

He's just passed the eight mile marker 🏃‍♂️

 

Gaz

 

[Gaz]

And he's finished:

 

 

In 3h 34mins 👍

 

I'm not expecting to hear from him for a bit - he'll be wanting a mug o' tea I expect 🫖  But in advance of that, a big thanks to those who asked for details of his sponsorship page 👍

 

Gaz