Katie Price, a former British model, has accepted the challenge of running the next London marathon with intent to fundraise for IPF, idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, a disease her mother was recently diagnosed with, reports Warrington Guardian. The marathon, a 26-mile challenge, was developed to fundraise for the British Lung Foundation, an organization that has supported many with IPF, including her mother.
IPF is an extremely rare disease with little awareness, making diagnoses difficult to establish early. The disease is progressive, and an early diagnosis could be life or death. IPF is a rare lung disorder that causes fibrosis, which is scarring to the lungs and make it’s difficult to breathe. One in every 6,000 individuals a year are known to have IPF and unfortunately for that percentage, there is no known cure. To learn more about it, click here.
Katie’s mother, Amy, is 64-years-old and had troubles for about 5-years before correctly receiving her diagnosis. From her experience, she wants nothing more than more awareness to come about, so that change can happen for these patients. More awareness brings in more funding, and more funding brings in more research that could lead to a significant treatment or even a cure.
For now, Amy is beyond grateful and proud of her daughter doing whatever she can to fight for her mother and fight the disease altogether. Katie expressed that running 26-miles is nothing compared to what her mother and all IPF patients have to experience every single day. It’s the least she can do.
The event’s fundraising manager, Katie Lyall, shared how excited they are for the support of Katie, as they know her efforts to bring awareness will have a lasting impact. While it’s difficult to see her family experience some devastation from the disease, they couldn’t be more grateful that they are all responding in such a positive manner to help make a difference.
