Lorraine's marathon effort to beat disease
When six-year-old Charlie Joseph Lewis lost his battle with cancer, family friend Lorraine Blythe was left feeling helpless.
Charlie, from Cardington, lost his fight against a cancerous brain tumour on April 2, 2012 after an 18-month battle with the disease.
He was the son of Lorraine's close friend.
The tragedy hit Lorraine even harder when her brother, Stephen Haynes, faced his own battle with a brain tumour. He is continuing to adjust to life after the tumour was removed in 2006.
Now Lorraine, 41, from Leegomery, Telford, is determined to give something back to charity to help fight the disease.
She will be running this year's London Marathon to raise funds for the The Brain Tumour Charity.
She has been training for the last 12 weeks and has already logged more than 310 miles running in and around Telford.
She is aiming to complete her first marathon, running 26.3 miles in under a respectable five hours.
She is also planning to boost her fundraising by bag-packing at at Asda Malinsgate on Saturday, March 29.
Lorraine said the death of little Charlie not only had a devastating affect on his family but also had a profound impact on the wider circle of friends.
Now she is determined to complete her challenge in his memory, raising money for vital cancer research in the process.
"Charlie Joseph Lewis was a very brave boy who sadly lost his fight against a cancerous brain tumour in 2012," said Lorraine.
"I was determined to do something positive to raise some money in his memory."
The Brain Tumour Charity provided research, drugs and clinical trials that gave Charlie the best possible chance of survival.
Its volunteers and staff also offered emotional support to his devastated parents, Annette and Karl, and his older brother Jacob.
Lorraine added: "Charlie's death had a massive impact on everyone. We felt helpless at the time and I now want to do something to help.
"We need to continue to do more fundraising in his memory.
"My brother Stephen Haynes continues to adjust to life after having his brain tumour surgically removed in 2006.
"Thanks to the research of The Brain Tumour Charity, Steve and his wife Michelle, have been able to see their two beautiful daughters, Emily and Lucie grow up – something that seemed to be very far away at the start of their journey.
"I'm taking this opportunity to support the charity that helped both of them and their families so much.
"I'm not what you would call a natural runner and I'm carrying a few extra pounds.
" I certainly don't look like a runner.
"I'm not fast and every run that I do is hard.
"I fight the urge to stop even when my body is screaming at me."
She said was very proud and excited to be running the London Marathon.
"This is my opportunity to give something back," she said.
"I watch the marathon every year on TV and I'm just in awe of the runners.
"I still can't quite believe that I am going to be one of them and run my first marathon."
Lorraine will be supported by her family and friends on the big day who will be cheering her along the route on Sunday, April 13.
She is hoping to raise a total of £1,500 for the The Brain Tumour Charity.
The charity offers a comprehensive service to enable everyone with a brain tumour, their families and carers, to receive the best support and information and achieve the highest quality of life possible, as well as raising awareness of brain tumours to improve life chances and reduce diagnosis times.
Louise Taylor, the charity's director of fundraising, said: "We are extremely grateful for all the efforts made by our fantastic fundraisers and wish them all the very best.
"Brain tumours are the biggest cancer killer of the under-40s and, unlike other cancers, survival rates have not improved over the last 40 years.
"We are leading the way in changing this and truly fighting brain tumours on all fronts through our work, including a £2.5 million investment into research this year alone.
"We receive no government funding and rely 100 per cent on voluntary donations
"It's only through the efforts of people like Lorraine that we can change these shocking statistics in the future."
To help Lorraine, raise more vital funds for research and support please visit https://www.justgiving.com/LorraineBlythe or text RAIN95 £5 to 70070 to donate £5.
