REDDITCH runner Lauren Knowles took on the Vitality Big Half Marathon in London in memory of her friend Jim Lynskey who died last year whilst waiting for a heart transplant, writes Shazad Hussain.
And Lauren smashed her £600 target for the British Heart Foundation’s life saving research.
Jim, from Studley, died aged just 23 from a third cardiac arrest after suffering from a history of heart problems caused when he and his twin sister Grace caught meningitis when they were just two weeks old.
But while Grace made a full recovery, Jim was left with an enlarged and weakened heart to the extent that when he died he was reliant on a battery powered machine to pump blood around his body.
Inspirational: Jim Lynskey with his campaign emblem to Save 9 Lives.
Having helped to raise awareness for Jim’s own campaign, Save9Lives, which encourages members of the public to sign up to the organ donation list, Lauren turned her fundraising efforts to the British Heart Foundation and their life saving research into conditions such as Jim’s.
“Jim was very close to the BHF and their work,” she said.
“He did a lot of work alongside them to help raise awareness of his condition and the importance of organ donation.
“I wanted to give back to the BHF and help to raise money for their research so they can help people like Jim.
“I was thinking of him and his extraordinarily kind and charismatic ways throughout the 13.2 miles. He was a truly amazing man.”
Karen McDonnell from the BHF said: “Jim touched so many of us here at the BHF as I know he did to people in all aspects of his life.
“More than seven million people in the UK are currently living with heart and circulatory diseases. Our wonderful fundraisers like Lauren, are at the centre of helping to drive research into treatments and cures for these millions.”
You can still sponsor Lauren at http://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/lauren-save9lives
