Muckhart pupils run for lung disorder charity

Hamish Hutchinson 1597 - 1597 • Published 26 Mar 2008 12:00 0 Comments

MUCKHART Primary School"s headteacher and pupils have been looking out their running gear to raise vital funds for charity.

Headteacher Helen Finch ran Sunday"s Alloa Half Marathon while pupils in her running club are doing a sponsored run around Gartmorn Dam to raise money for LAM Action.

The charity helps patients and families with Lymphangioleiomyomatosis - known as LAM - and doctors caring for patients with the condition.

The disorder affects women only and is generally diagnosed in women of childbearing age. It mainly affects the lungs, where it causes excessive growth of smooth muscle tissue.

The school decided to raise money for the charity as a sister of one of the teachers suffered from the condition and recently underwent a double lung transplant.

The teacher, Margaret Young, had even asked for time off to say goodbye to her sister, Marion Wiseman, who was literally days from death before the transplant last November.

Helen, speaking after Sunday"s race, told the Advertiser, 'It feels brilliant to have finished. Running along Menstrie Brae was hard but the support kept us going.

'There were lots of pupils and their parents cheering me on which was a great help.'

Helen continued, 'I took up running a couple of years ago and have done a few 10k races and I did the Alloa Half Marathon last year as well.

'I was delighted to do it for charity this year and particularly one that is so close to our hearts.

'We really felt as a school that by doing this we would be raising awareness of the charity, as well raising money for them.'

She went on, 'Marion"s recovery has been miraculous considering that Margaret had asked me for time off to say goodbye to her.

'Thankfully a donor came up at such a time that Marion was still able to go through with the operation.'

Marion watched Sunday"s half marathon, and said, 'I"m really pleased people and the community here are raising money for the charity.

'I was out cheering Helen and all the other runners on.'

Helen and her pupils have been busy preparing for their respective runs with some extra training sessions.

She said, 'I would say there was a lot more pressure this year because I was doing the half marathon for charity.

'I"ve done some extra runs with the pupils during the day to get their mileage up for the sponsored run around Gartmorn Dam as three miles is quite a long way for children.'

LAM Action provides information, support and encouragement for LAM patients and their families through a website, an email chatline (LAMLine), a regular newsletter (LAMPost) and an annual meeting.

The charity also raises much needed money to help in the research into the condition.

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This article appeared in Alloa & Hillfoots Advertiser 27 Mar 08

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