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Hundreds of cyclists will once again be joining TV presenter and Action Medical Research supporter Davina McCall in Sussex.
The annual fundraising bike ride will see people riding from the East Sussex National Golf Club, Uckfield on Sunday 10 June.
“I absolutely LOVE this event” admits Davina. “I say this every year but it really does just get better and better. We have loads of ladies – and one or two chaps – who get on their bikes, have an amazing time and help raise money for Action.”
Davina is an Action Ambassador and her connection with the charity dates back to her own childhood when she was introduced to it by her granny who was an active fundraiser.
Davina’s Big Sussex Bike Ride consists of three routes:
- Cool: 21 miles
- Classic: 40 miles
- Champion: 68 miles
Cyclists can sign up here until 9pm on Wednesday 7 June.
Alternatively, people can register on the day for £45.
Action organises a number of fundraising events across the UK each year in order to help fund vital medical research.
Kai’s story
Kai Feeney, 13, who lives in Peacehaven, suffers from the rare lung condition primary ciliary dyskinesia (PCD).
Children with PCD have a persistent cough from birth and face a lifetime of recurrent chest infections. They often develop hearing loss and eventually permanent lung damage. Treatment with antibiotics and physiotherapy to clear mucus from the lungs helps, but there is no cure.
Kai’s demanding daily routine involves using inhalers and a device called an acapella which vibrates his lungs to help the mucus move.
“Kai loves sports and is very good at football,” says Kai’s mum Aimee. “He plays for the school team and a local club and is a talented striker. We’ve had to remove the lightbulbs in our house because he will kick just about anything!”
Sadly, PCD means that Kai may not be able to fulfil his footballing dreams – and that is why medical research to understand more about the disease, and develop new treatment approaches, is so important.
Aimee is heartened to know that Action has supported research into PCD, commenting: “A new treatment that means Kai’s lungs could work normally could give him his life back.”
Action is a UK-wide children’s charity which funds desperately needed research to tackle the diseases that devastate the lives of so many of our children. It has been funding medical breakthroughs since it began in 1952 including helping to introduce the first polio vaccines in the UK, developing the use of ultrasound in pregnancy and testing the rubella vaccine.
The charity is currently funding research into conditions including asthma, prematurity, epilepsy, meningitis, cerebral palsy, brain cancer and some rare and distressing conditions.
-ENDS-
NOTES TO EDITORS:
To download a photo of Davina:
https://www.action.org.uk/sites/default/files/downloads/press/davina_-_cycling_2017.jpg
To download a photo of Kai:
https://www.action.org.uk/sites/default/files/downloads/press/kai_feeney_27.jpg
To download photos from the 2017 event:
https://www.action.org.uk/sites/default/files/downloads/press/bsbr2017a.jpg
https://www.action.org.uk/sites/default/files/downloads/press/bsbr2017b.jpg
https://www.action.org.uk/sites/default/files/downloads/press/bsbr2017c.jpg
To find out more about the research into PCS that Action has supported:
https://www.action.org.uk/research/primary-ciliary-dyskinesia-tackling-underlying-cause-debilitating-rare-condition
For more information on Action Medical Research contact Peter Denton, Fundraising Communications Officer, on:
T: 01403 327412
E:pdenton@action.org.uk
W: action.org.uk
Follow us on Twitter at @actionmedres and @amr_events
Like our Facebook page at facebook.com/actionmedres
Follow us on Instagram at @actionmedres and @actionevents
Action Medical Research is a leading UK-wide charity saving and changing children’s lives through medical research. For more than 65 years we’ve helped pioneer ways to prevent disease and develop treatments benefiting millions of people. Our research has helped to beat polio in the UK, develop ultrasound in pregnancy, fight meningitis and prevent stillbirths. But we urgently need to develop more new treatments and cures for sick babies and children and we can’t do it without you.
Join our fight for little lives today.
Charity reg. nos 208701 and SC039284.