Three months after his wife was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, a Cwmbran man is running the London Marathon for a charity that supports people with the condition.
Days after Sally and Paul Mason, both 44 and with three sons, returned from a family holiday to America last May, her face began to droop and she had tingling in her hands.
An urgent trip to the Grange University Hospital soon ruled out a stroke. Further scans then raised fears that a “mass” on her brain could be cancer. It took months of tests before doctors confirmed she had MS- a lifelong neurological condition affecting the central nervous system.
Paul said: “MS is one of those things that people don’t see much about it, and then when you know about it, it’s like you find a lot of people who have got it or know people who’ve got it.”
Paul, a member of Griffithstown Harriers running club, has entered the London Marathon ballot 15 times with no success. When doctors first suspected Sally had MS, he applied for a charity place – but all the spaces had already gone.
The MS Society
Then, in early March, an email arrived from the MS Society saying one of their runners had dropped out. Did he want the place?
It was an instant yes, even with the pressure of raising at least £2,500.
Paul said: “I’m on three thousand and something pounds now, which is mad in six weeks.
“You know the generosity of everyone that’s donated is nuts and people you don’t even think, like people you haven’t seen since school or people you haven’t seen for years, and you see a donation appear.”
He said he’s also received messages from people with MS and from others whose relatives have the condition.
“I’ve wanted to do it for so long. I’m going to go there and just enjoy it. I’ve got no time in mind. I’m going to enjoy the whole experience of it and just take it all in.”
Sponsor Paul and support the Multiple Sclerosis Society
Use this link to sponsor Paul.