A CARING brother is getting on his bike to raise money for his desperately ill sister.
Chris Rice has been left heartbroken by the deterioration in his sister Clare who is suffering from a severe chemical reaction allergy which has left her wasting away at home.
“Clare is currently suffering from severe Multiple Chemical Sensitivity (MCS),” said Chris.
“It’s an adverse physical reaction to low levels of many common chemicals, a chronic recurring disease caused by a person’s inability to tolerate an environmental chemical or class of foreign chemicals.
“These can include foods, solvents, perfumes, fuels, smoke, EMF, and any other chemicals in general.”
The 40-year-old mum of two’s condition is so severe she is effectively confined to her bedroom.
“She can only tolerate a handful of different foods which has caused her to lose a considerable amount of weight, leaving her even more unwell,” added Chris, from Church Hill.
With treatment only available privately, and with Clare also suffering from ME and fibromyalgia, Chris felt he had to something to help.
“I did a bit of a mad thing,” he said.
“I dropped a van off in Gwent and put my bike in to cycle back – it took me seven and a half hours and oh, my backside was killing me.
“But it got me thinking and so I came up with a fund-raising bike ride.”
Chris and the rest of Clare’s family set a target of £6,000 and so far they’ve managed to raise £3,243.
“Our immediate mission is to make Clare as comfortable as possible in her own home. This will mean investing in a specialised anti allergy bed and sofa, which will at least improve on her quality of life.
“There are two private allergy and environmental clinics that we know that treat people like Clare.
“Unfortunately though this level of care is financially out of reach for most people.”
Chris and some mates now plan to ride along the Grand Union Canal from London to Birmingham, weather permitting next week, to reach their total.
“I don’t think we could make the full 137 miles in one day but we’ll get on the towpath with a good 100 miles to go,” he said.
To support the team, visit https://gf.me/u/ymymcc
