12 Hour Drumathon For Eden
Hi! My name is Kayleigh Cheer and I'm a Brixton-based drummer. I have an amazing friend called Trudi, and she has two amazing daughters called Eden and Galia.
Eden is 9 years old, and is very sick with a super rare condition called Myocolonus Diaphragmatic Flutter. Unlike any hiccups that you and I may have experienced though, Eden’s spasms come at a rate of around 150 a minute causing, on a good day at least, an involuntary punctuation to each and every word she speaks and a visibly uncomfortable contraction of her muscles starting at her diaphragm and rippling painfully through her body.
“It’s been relentless and I’m so worried for my girl. The attacks came out of the blue and have not stopped for months. When they’re most severe she’s in excruciating agony and unable to talk at all – the pain, stress and migraines it causes will knock her out for days only for the same to happen again.” - Trudi, Eden's Mum.
It’s thought Eden will be only the 56th known case of a ‘Mycolonus Diaphramatic Flutter’, the first in the UK and certainly one of the youngest. Sometimes referred to as ‘Belly Dancer’s Syndrome’, the causes are not fully understood and can often arise as a secondary symptom to another underlying issue, although it can also be assessed as ‘ideopathic’ – meaning that no underlying cause can be found.
On Monday 23rd March at The Windmill in Brixton, I am going to drum non-stop for 12 hours in order to raise some funds towards the £6000 target Trudi needs in order to take Eden to a specialist in Colarado, and then on for life changing treatment in Isreal. For the last 5 hours of the challenge, I have invited all the musicians I know to come and join me for short, unique and impromptu jams and band sets so we can finish this thing off in style and get lots of people down to support Eden's cause. Entry on the night will be completely free, with the option of donating towards the fund in cash or online. Everyone is welcome!
Event invite is here: https://www.facebook.com/events/647829908696591
Any money you can pledge - no matter how big or small - will go directly towards getting treatment for our 9 year old superhero. After eleven and half hours of drumming without a break, your donations will be the only thing keeping me going!
From Eden, Galia, Trudi and myself, thank you so much for your support. X
