<div>Let me introduce you to team Zooki- Marcus, Benny, Nay and DD (David)!
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<div><strong>The Event</strong>
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<div>Starting at the crack of dawn on Friday 21st November and finishing on the evening of Saturday 22nd November we are setting out to beat the current world record for the longest Padel match in order to raise funds for the Childhood Eye Cancer Trust (CHECT). We are aiming to hit 40 hours, which will see the same 4 of us playing one massive Padel match for the full duration!
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<div>We have had our attempt sanctioned by the Guinness Book of World Records, and upon completion we are hoping to receive a World Record title!
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<div><strong>Why CHECT?</strong>
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<div>This is a personal one for me (Nay), and my story goes back to my childhood. When looking at some family photos, a member of family noticed a glow in one of my eyes. It wasn't known at the time, but this is a common sign of Retinoblastoma.
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<div>Retinoblastoma (Rb) is a type of eye cancer that affects young children, mainly under the age of six. It develops in the cells of the retina, the light sensitive lining of the eye. Around 40-50 cases are diagnosed in the UK every year – approximately one child a week. Retinoblastoma can affect either one or both eyes.
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<div>Over many months I was continually referred to specialists and eventually fell under the care of the late Consultant Ophthalmologist John Hungerford- the person who ultimately saved my life. I was diagnosed with bilateral RB, meaning both eyes would be affected.
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<div>For a period of time myself and my mum were moved to live in and around St Barts hospital in London where I would receive my various treatments (Cryotherapy and Radiotherapy to name a few). And after some time, I was finally able to return home to Lytham St Annes.
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<div>For me, the cancer was persistent in both eyes, and to preserve some vision in my right eye it was deemed necessary to remove my left eye entirely which was replaced with a prosthetic eye (often called a 'glass eye'), every now and then I get a shiny new one!
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<div>To press, I am totally blind in my left eye and am visually impaired in my right eye- so the TLDR is, my vision isn't very good! I do however, consider myself lucky, and try to always think it could have been much worse and it wouldn't have been out of the question that I lost all vision in my right eye also!
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<div>Of course, as I've grown up the nature of my sight does present me with challenges and obstacles. Though I never quite made it as a professional footballer or a top 10 Padel player, I like to think I'm a good example of somebody that will get stuck in and have a go at everything without worrying too much about how it'll pan out! I owe that very much to my mum and dad who have forever encouraged me to have a go at things as well as my hugely supportive family and friends.
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<div>Fast forward many years, In December 2019 we were lucky enough to welcome our eldest daughter Izzy into the world. Because of the nature of my condition, with the help of CHECT we were very strongly encouraged to have Izzy checked out as soon as possible and we were informed that there would be a 50/50 chance that she could be born with Rb too.
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<div>In January 2020 we learnt that Izzy too had Rb and would need to undergo various cycles of Chemotherapy to kill the cancer and present the further spread.
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<div>Little did we know at the time we were hurtling into a global pandemic, which meant during Izzy's various treatments we had to completely isolate ourselves away from the world whilst we'd travel back and forth to London so Izzy could receive her treatments at Royal London &amp; Great Ormond St hospitals.
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<div>At this particular time the world was well, complicated. And the support we received as a family from CHECT was absolutely immense. They coordinated our appointments, travel, ensured we had places to stay overnight as well as providing huge amounts of help and support to myself, my wife and Izzy.
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<div>Izzy's outlook is a little more favourable than my own, and with a fair wind the hope is she will retain healthy vision in one eye due to the proactive diagnosis and swift treatment. It is thought she will lose most (if not all) vision in the other eye. It's safe to say, this really doesn't stop her, and despite a challenging start to life it's been unbelievably fulfilling to watch her take life in her stride and just go for it, she's a tough kid!
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<div>In August 2023 came our youngest daughter, Sophie. Due to advances in research, via blood samples we were able to have Sophie's outlook confirmed before she came into the world. In the same way I'll never forget the feeling of learning of Izzy's diagnosis, I'll never forget the relief finding out that Sophie did not have Rb.
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<div>As I write, it's really difficult to explain just how valuable the support from CHECT has been, and how different the whole experience could have been without it. Whilst it is difficult to qualify just how grateful I am, what I do know is it is my time to give back and ensure that families who have their RB journeys to come are able to receive the same support that we were fortunate enough to have had, as well as help advance research and development around diagnosis and treatments.
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<div><strong>A few words to Benny, Marcus &amp; DD</strong>
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<div>It's not often you ask people if they're willing to give a weekend up to come and stand on a Padel court for 40 hours straight. All 3 of them said yes without battering an eyelid and in many ways that should tell you everything you need to know about them.
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<div>Benny has been a lifelong best friend, and is 'Uncle Benny' to everyone at home. Marcus &amp; DD I've been fortunate enough to meet a little later in life through playing Padel and have become great friends. Marcus perhaps won't remember but when I first met him it wasn't too long after we had come out of lockdown and Izzy was in the middle of her treatments, every week he'd ask how she was doing and how everything's going and I'll always remember this. In these times the little things really do make a difference! Little did I know when DD and I first met playing Padel my mum had actually taught him to swim and they have long standing good friends to our family!
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<div>I'm very lucky to be able to call them friends, and teammates for this event, and I truly hope they know just how much I appreciate them joining me to take on this challenge and raise both funds and awareness for CHECT.
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<div>I'd strongly encourage you to take a look at the <a href="https://chect.org.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">CHECT website</a>. CHECT receives no government or regulatory funding and is therefore reliant on donations to deliver their services. The current economic landscape and uncertainties, continues to be a challenge and it affects their ability to raise funds.
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<div>If you got this far, thank you for reading. We'd love any support you are willing to offer, whether that's a donation or simply just spreading the word. Every little bit of support in whatever fashion helps and we'd all greatly appreciate it!
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<div>I will leave my contact details below should you have any questions or queries please get in touch!
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<div>Phone- 07545809817.
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<div>Thank you so much ❤️.
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