Local woman to run London Marathon for Polycystic Kidney Disease Charity

Roxie, is already training hard for the London Marathon which takes place next month, and will see her take on the gruelling 26 miles through the London but she is determined to do it!

The mother of 2 is hoping to raise as much as possible for the PKD Charity, which supports people affected by polycystic kidney disease, raising awareness and funding research.

Roxie says:

“I found out I had got into London Marathon via the ballot on my first day of training for my promotion where I work! Talk about timing.

I decided then I wanted to run for PKD Charity as Polycystic Kidney Disease is always lurking in the shadows of our family. Known about but not causing any problems.

Unfortunately, my mums health rapidly went down hill, from living a normal life to now being unable to work and on the journey to start dialysis in the coming weeks.

But we have hope as my parents have been accepted onto a pairing scheme and my mum is waiting on the donor list which wouldn't be possible without amazing donors.

The disease is awful as there is no cure, only treatment. Unfortunately people don't seem to understand unless they are going through it themselves. Getting into the marathon has helped me raise awareness and talk about a subject which is difficult when it is so dominant in life. With such an uncertain future, running gives me focus and drive to work towards my goals and take all opportunities with both hands. So far this year I've had a promotion at work and I'm running the race I've always dreamed of, having a chronic condition is not going to stop me from living life to the full as most weekends (after long runs are done) you'll find me in the hills/mountains walking.

This Charity means so much to me as Tess Harris, the charities formed CEO who sadly died last year, had a huge impact on my mums life. Getting her to the right treatment and giving her all the information she needed to give her better quality of life for much longer before dialysis was required.”

Alison Taylor, Chief Executive at PKD Charity, says:

“We’re delighted Roxie is part of our team for this years London Marathon and has chosen to support PKD Charity.

70,000 adults and children in the UK may have PKD. This life-threatening inherited condition can cause renal failure and affect other organs in the body. It can present in people of all ages, from babies and children to adults in their prime – commonly running through entire families such as Roxies.

PKD Charity is here to support anyone affected by PKD. We also raise awareness and fund research.

Kidney research is critically underfunded - in the UK, less than 1% of all health research funding goes to kidney research, and a fraction of that amount goes towards PKD research specifically. New treatments for PKD are needed now

We couldn’t provide the support that we do to anyone affected by polycystic kidney disease without wonderful fundraisers like Roxie. The money that they raise by taking on this challenge will help to support those affected and it will help to raise awareness and fund research in to this condition.”

You can sponsor Roxie by visiting her JustGiving page https://www.justgiving.com/page/roxanne-sellars-2