The Journey – Wheezing towards London
Joy Creaser-Thomas, respiratory registrar and asthma researcher based in Swansea
Hello! Let me introduce myself…
My name is Joy and I am a respiratory registrar and researcher based in Swansea. I have always loved lungs! Why wouldn’t you? As a medical student I would see patients feeling breathless and have a need to make them feel better.
I was lucky enough to get an academic job with an interest in asthma….and that’s how it all began. Every week I see patients completely disabled by breathlessness. Young people who cannot play with their children, complete university/work or even do simple tasks such as wash, dress and have a good quality of life. People still think that asthma is “just something you grow out of” - but it isn’t.
Running the London Marathon
I started my marathon journey in a strange way. As a big footie lover I found myself unable to play after fracturing my wrist. In fact, the only exercise I could do was running.
My wife would definitely describe me as impulsive. I get an idea into my head then I’m committed before I know it. So, one Sunday morning in my cast I switched the TV on to see the London Marathon. Then I had a flashback to being a little girl sitting on my dad’s lap watching it on TV and saying to him “I’m going to do that one day”. Before I knew it I had signed up for a charity place with Asthma UK. A week later I got the email saying I had a place…
And that was it! I started running. Before I knew it I had several races under my belt.
Asthma in the UK
Meanwhile, with every clinic - and as my research progressed - I began to understand that this was about so much more than my own physical challenge. This was about the people I see every Friday in clinic. This was about those who can’t work, cant study, can’t play with their kids, have become institutionalised by suffering with a disabling chronic illness.
Some startling facts:
- 5.4 million people in the UK are suffering with asthma (1 in 11 children, 1 in 12 adults)!
- 250,000 cannot climb stairs or even leave house!
- Every 10 seconds someone is having a life threatening asthma attack!
- Every day the lives of three families are devastated by an asthma related death!
- 1216 asthma related deaths in 2014!
- Someone is hospitalised every 8 minutes due to an asthma attack!
I’m taking on the biggest physical challenge of my life to raise awareness as well as money and because I can!
If you would like to support the work of Asthma UK to improve treatments, improve quality of life and stop unnecessary deaths, please visit the links below. Thank you!
.............................................................................................
Joy will be running the London Marathon 2018 on 22nd April.
Links