Local MP John Lamont is set to run the 2019 London Marathon for Marie Curie Scotland, to raise money for terminally ill patients to receive care in their own homes.
The MP has announced he hopes to raise £5000, which will pay for 250 hours of at home Marie Curie nursing care and allow patients in the Borders the choice to spend their final days with family and in familiar surroundings.
John will be joined by several fellow MPs at the marathon this year. At least one MP has run in each of the 38 London Marathons since the first event in 1981.
This will be John’s 4th marathon, following New York in 2011, Edinburgh in 2012 and London in 2018. Last year, John raised nearly £4,000 for MND Scotland and the My Name’5 Doddie Foundation. John is also the only MP to have completed an Ironman Triathlon.
Recently, John met with local Marie Curie nurses in Kelso to hear the difference care at home can make for patients with terminal illnesses and their families.
John Lamont MP said: “The local Marie Curie team in the Borders are absolutely fantastic and they really deserve our support. Their dedicated nurses provide the type of end of life care we all want for our loved ones. This work makes a huge amount of difference to people to people with terminal illnesses and their families.
“I’m delighted that the money donated will allow Marie Curie to provide care here in the Scottish Borders. My target is to pay for 250 hours of care for terminally ill patients, giving them the choice to spend their final days at home, surrounded by loved ones in familiar surroundings.
“Training for a marathon is certainly not getting any easier and finding time to train at the moment is a challenge. However, I’ll be pounding the pavements in the Borders and in London over the next few months to get myself as ready as I can be and to seek to raise as much money as I can for Marie Curie.”
Maureen Stevenson, Fundraising Manager at Marie Curie said: “Every one of us in the UK will be affected at some point by a terminal illness. When that time comes, we all want to be confident the right care will be there for us? That’s where Marie Curie comes in.
“Every day of your life matters, whether it’s the first or the last. Our nurses allow people to choose to be cared for at home, at end of life. We couldn’t do this without the help and support of people like John, who choose to fundraise for us.
“We would like to thank him for his help and support and wish him all the best with his training, fundraising and on the day.
“If you would like to support Marie Curie and help us provide care for those affected by terminal illness and their families, our annual Daffodil campaign takes place throughout February and March. To sign up to collect go to wwwmariecurie.org.uk/collect or to help in any way call your local Fundraiser Angela Davidson on 07720947331.
“Thanks and Good luck John!”