Our charity of the month for June was the Cystic Fibrosis Trust, nominated by Jordan Murphy who handed over our £444 donation to a local boxer who was born with the disease.
Jordan nominated the trust because he is the carer for his partner who has also had the disease all her life.
Hospital appointments
He said: “It was something I’d never heard of before we got together and I starting to take her to hospital for her appointments.
“It’s a terrible disease and I was glad of the chance to raise some money and some awareness for the fight against it.
Chris is an inspiration for the way he has fought for so long and the way he has raised the profile of a disease that not many people know about or understand.”
Long battle
Chris McKay is now 33 and has fought a long battle with the cystic fibrosis which doctors had warned his parents could kill him before his first birthday.
He took up boxing at the suggestion of his brother Mike when he was in ‘a dark place’ in his fight against the disease and now he’s training hard to try to achieve his ambition of becoming the first ever professional boxer with the disease.
100 tablets a day
He said: “With cystic fibrosis, I’m in pain 24/7. I have to get up at 5am to take my medication and I take about 100 tablets a day.
“When I’m ill, I’ll be in hospital from two weeks up to two months.
I was in over Christmas and New Year basically trying to stay alive, but there’s no way I’m ever going to give up.”
Ambassador
He is a former ambassador for the charity and is passionate about raising what he calls the ‘shocking levels’ of awareness about it.
He said: “I’ve lost a lot of friends to cystic fibrosis. To watch them slowly deteriorate through the years and then pass away is tough. I’m not going to be here forever, but I want to create a legacy that will carry on when I’m gone.
“Sometimes I don’t even have the energy to get off the couch, but I just keep going. I’m still training to become a professional boxer, but I’ve no idea how long it will take me to achieve it.”
Thank you
Jessica Barnard of the charity’s fund-raising team said: “Thank you so much to Gladstone Brookes for choosing the Cystic Fibrosis Trust as their charity of the month and raising a fantastic £444 which will support those with cystic fibrosis and their families, as well as fund medical research.
“Cystic fibrosis is not something that many people really understand and yet there are over 10,400 people living with the condition in the UK with millions carrying the gene.
The trust is the only UK-wide charity dedicated to fighting for a life unlimited for everyone affected by cystic fibrosis and we are delighted to be working with Gladstone Brookes to raise awareness of and funds to support those living with this life-shortening condition.”
