Hi all,

I'm Fred Varley and I'm running a half-marathon on Sunday 30th November (I know late notice, poor planning on my part). I'm looking to collect donations for SMA UK. SMA stands for Spinal Muscular Atrophy and it is a genetic disorder that affects muscles by weakening them and impacting a person's mobility, as well as causing difficulties with swallowing and breathing.

Signs start to show at a very early age.

Nearly two years ago, I was lucky enough to become honorary uncle to the sweetest newborn baby. Aurora, who despite only being 21-months old has such a huge personality, a cheeky little thing who is too clever for her own good sometimes. She makes everyone around her laugh with her antics. Even when she's misbehaving. Aurora has type 1 SMA, which is the most detrimental form of SMA. When she was a few months old, Aurora started to show symptoms. She had limited mobility in her legs and neck, she was having trouble with feeding due to not being able to swallow, now her feeding is done via a tube. Her immune system is very weak and when she becomes sick, this can cause respiratory problems. I've seen her family adapt to this sudden hurdle and they've done an amazing job. She's got a loving support system and the medical professionals have been wonderful.

She gets stronger each time I see her, and a large part of that is due to the treatment she receives. I would like to donate money to the SMA charity. So that children like Aurora can have the resources for everything they need and live long, full lives.