Jonathan and Mical Marcos share what it means to donate in memory of their beloved mum.

Our beloved mum Almaz was suddenly diagnosed with scleroderma in May 2019, without any warning or prior symptoms.  Scleroderma is very rare and difficult for doctors to diagnose early and this meant our mum’s condition deteriorated fast.  The disease quickly affected every organ in her body and on 22^ndDecember 2019, she lost her battle aged 51- only nine months after being diagnosed.

As a family we felt a strong need to do something which would be in memory of our mum and help improve the lives of others living with the condition.  Our mum was the most loving and caring person with the biggest heart – treating everyone like family. In her memory, we want to raise awareness and fund research into better treatments.  One day we hope there will be a cure and other families won’t experience the devastating loss of someone they love because of scleroderma.

SRUK is an amazing charity working very hard to support everyone living with scleroderma by providing advice and information and funding vital research.  They support families often at a time of confusion and distress which is why fundraising for SRUK is so important to us and is a cause close to our hearts.  It means so much knowing we are helping to make a difference. 

So far, we have taken the plunge with a tandem skydive and will soon be running a 10k – helping to raise over £5,000 in memory of our Mum for SRUK.  The support and generosity we have received towards our fundraising has been amazing and we are so grateful to everyone for their donations.  As you can imagine, the loss of our mum has been extremely hard, but in some small way it helps to know we are making a positive contribution in her memory. 

If you have a personal story you would like to share please get in touch with us.  Contact us on 020 3893 5993 or by email: fundraising@sruk.co.uk