The Marcliffe Hotel and Spa was the venue for the event on Thursday 14 March. Hayden Turner, a former zookeeper at Taronga Zoo in Sydney, has hosted programmes on National Geographic and the Discovery Channel, reporting from some of the wildest and most scenic places on earth. Hayden spoke at the Ladies’ Lunch about his personal connection to the charity and his family’s experience of pregnancy complications and premature birth, as well as his safari adventures across the globe.
By all accounts the day was a success and much enjoyed by all. Janet Balcombe, Community Fundraising Manager for Action Medical Research Scotland, says: “We had a wonderful afternoon and are already planning for next year’s event. Hayden is a fabulous ambassador for the charity, sharing his personal experience of why medical research is so important. We hope you will join us in 2014 and help us continue to raise money for our important work.”
The next Aberdeen Ladies’ Lunch will take place on 13 March 2014. If you would like further information email jbalcombe@action.org.uk or call 01505 864334.
Action in Scotland research projects
Action is currently funding a project into obesity in children based at the University of Aberdeen. Other medical research at the University of Edinburgh is focused on two projects: one of which has developed an eyesight device that could improve diagnosis and management of brain tumours and other serious illness in children. The other Action funded project is researching whether MRI scans could help detect growth restriction of babies in the womb, which could help prevent premature or stillbirth. New research: multiple sclerosis in children
New for 2013, is research looking at multiple sclerosis (MS) and what causes damage and destruction of the nervous system. The research is being led by Professor Christopher Linington from the University of Glasgow. Professor Linington’s work could lead to badly needed new treatments for people who have multiple sclerosis.
Estimates suggests up to 10 per cent of people with MS experience the first symptoms of the condition in childhood: tiredness, dizziness, problems with their sight, balance, memory and concentration. Damage to the nervous system causes MS and the symptoms, the same as adults with MS, can cause distress and disrupt school and family life.
There is no cure for MS, no way of predicting how a child will be in one year, in five, or 10 years’ time, and no way of knowing how they will respond to treatment. At first symptoms of MS that a child suffers may come and go but, as time goes on, they will develop permanent and devastating disabilities.
Professor Linington explains: “Although we know that children with MS have damage to nerves within the brain and spinal cord, we know very little about exactly how, or why, this damage occurs. We are trying to find out more.” Other evidence suggests that certain antibodies in the blood of children with MS ’attack’ their nerves. The damage caused by this process may influence how severe their MS is and how quickly it progresses. Professor Linnington suspects this is the case and if his research proves it, then treatments that have already been used to tackle problem antibodies in other illnesses might benefit some children with MS.
Helping children like Rachel
Rachel Courtney experienced her first symptoms of MS when she was just 12 years old. She started to feel very, very tired one day. The following day she woke up with a ‘wonky’ left eye which lasted for about a week. Three months later Rachel experienced pins and needles down her left side.
Almost a year after her eye had gone funny, Rachel’s body went numb from the armpits down. She was terrified. “I didn’t feel right – my legs were rubbery and wouldn’t move. I couldn’t feel my body. Mum called an ambulance,” she recalled. In hospital, Rachel had a series of blood tests, a lumber puncture and an MRI scan. The results showed that she had MS. It was just days before her 14th birthday.
At the time Rachel said: “It’s more difficult to fit in at school when you keep missing it. I felt strange and alone and didn’t want to go because people didn’t understand what I was going through. For a long time I stopped going out and spent more time with my family. I’ve had to make new friends.”
With her balance and co-ordination affected, Rachel has had to give up hobbies she previously enjoyed, such as karate and kick boxing, but she still goes swimming. “Some days I’m happy and don’t have a care in the world, but on others I feel like I am all alone. I’m scared of falling over – you can’t see that my balance and my eyes aren’t working properly. With the help of my nurse, Chris, and my family I can take my treatment and stay positive. My mum says they are making a cure and I just have to wait. So I'm waiting.”
You can watch a slide show created by Rachel herself about what life’s like for her with MS: http://youtu.be/gyhcjX_53Ms
Get involved with Action in Scotland
Whether you are a cycling fanatic, you are new to fitness, you fancy the ultimate walking challenge or you just want to have fun and raise funds for Action, there is something for you to get involved with!
For more details about our research, events and how you can get involved with Action Medical Research in Scotland, please contact: Janet Balcombe jbalcombe@action.org.uk or Cecilia Cooper ccooper@action.org.uk
Or take a look to get involved with Action in Scotland.
