By Isle of Wight Observer
A 27-year-old is running the London Marathon next month, in memory of her father, Paul, who passed away after suffering for more than 15 years with Huntington’s Disease (HD).
Helen Scivier, from Freshwater, a children’s nurse on a career break, explained: “HD is a progressive neurological condition that causes gradual breakdown of nerve cells in the brain.
“It affects people differently, but over time a person’s movement, thinking and behaviour worsens. There is currently no cure. The condition is also genetic so future generations have a 50 per cent chance of inheriting the disease.
“Dad was a keen marathon runner, an early West Wight Road Runner, who helped set up the Needles Marathon and he ran the first London Marathon in 1981.
“HD took away his ability to run and eventually to walk and talk. I’m running my first marathon for him and, for all those at risk of the disease, so that research and support can be funded. I have been busy training along the Island paths dad used to train on. I am hoping I have my dad’s running gene and not the defective HD gene.
“More than just fund-raising, I am hoping to improve understanding of this difficult disease. The journey of HD is an endurance marathon too.”
