Catherine Loadman cycles for charity

Catherine Loadman takes part in the Prudential RideLondon-Surrey 100 on 31 July – a 100 mile bike ride in aid of MNDA (South Essex Branch). 
Catherine is a Partner at the Firm and a member of our Family Law Department. She is raising money for MNDA (South Essex Branch) which is Pinney Talfourd’s Charity of the Year.

Prudential RideLondon-Surrey 100 celebrates the legacy for cycling created by the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. It starts in Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, then follows a 100-mile route on closed roads through the capital and into Surrey’s stunning countryside.

With leg-testing climbs and a route made famous by the world’s best cyclists at the London 2012 Olympics, it finishes on The Mall in central London, shortly before 150 professional cyclists race in the Prudential RideLondon-Surrey Classic on a similar route.

Catherine has been in training and hopes to raise £500 by completing the course – although she keeps warning us all that she is not a natural cyclist at all and has never done anything like this before!

If you would like to sponsor Catherine in this mammoth task – you can read her story and donate at Virginmoneygiving.com/CatherineLoadman

What is MND?

Motor Neurone Disease is a truly evil illness. It is terminal and there is currently no treatment or cure. No one knows how or why people get it. Average length from diagnosis to death is 18 months.

In that 18 months the person with MND will lose their ability to speak – this is often the first thing to go. Then the muscles die – all of them. This leave the sufferer unable to walk, talk, move, blink, go to the toilet or swallow. They have to be fed through a peg fitted into their stomach.

What it doesn’t affect is the brain – that still functions normally so you end up with a person trapped inside a body that in effect has already died. It affects all ages. For some reason it only seems to affect people who are active, couch potatoes don’t get this disease.

MNDA South Essex Branch

The South Essex branch comprises of five people, all volunteers. They work extremely hard to raise funds and awareness for the disease.

They spend money on lots of different things such as;

• Converting a bathroom to a wet room
• Conversions and adaptations to house so people can remain at home
• Small disability devices and ramps for wheelchairs
• Stair lifts

In addition to this, they purchase iPads and boogie boards as these are essential communication aids when the voice goes. They might buy new bedding for someone who has a single hospital bed delivered. They pay for respite care and might fund private travel for hospital appointments in London.

They also do fun things – last year they had a summer lunch at Wat Tyler Country park for people with MND and the health care professionals – the consultants and nurses took a day off work to come and meet with their patients in an informal setting. At Christmas they went to the panto and had a Christmas lunch.

They have social meetings for those with MND and their carers to meet up have a coffee and cake and have a chat.

In short they do whatever is needed to ease and assist those with MND and their carers.

The local website is www.mndsouthessex.org/

Contact Catherine

If you would like to find out more about this event or speak to Catherine about her challenge please contact her on 01277 249383.