Run towards a nevus free future for our niece

Dearest friends and family,

We are fast approaching the end date of our fundraising campaign and we wanted to send you pre-Christmas update.

The campaign has been an overwhelming roller-coaster of emotions for all of us involved, besides the Suicide Six itself! Starting with the shocking discovery of long lost family and their challenging endeavours, quickly followed by the realisation of how much love can be felt for people you have never met before and the drive that gives you to do whatever you can to help.

The amount of compassion and generosity we have experienced from you since this all began has been astounding. We are lucky to call you our friends and family.

Including private donations, we have managed to raise £1,688, which is 84.4% of our total. This is fantastic.

We are so close to reaching our target and we would sincerely like to thank all who have donated and for those of you that haven’t, there is still time!

Wishing you all a very merry Christmas and a healthy New Year.

Dear friends,

My brother and I are hoping to raise money for our newly found family in Canada.

We were separated from our younger brother when, at the age of 2 he was adopted and emigrated to Alberta, Canada. However, using Facebook we have recently connected with our long lost sibling Jason McDouall after 28 years.

After years of searching on the internet, Jason sent a message earlier this year and we couldn't be happier to be reacquainted, albeit on Skype! This is one of the last photos of us before we were separated. From left Anthony, Amy and Jason.

Finding our brother was a miraculous and overwhelming event for us. However, in doing so we have also discovered we have four beautiful nieces; Jayda aged 8, Kenzi and Kaydance, aged 6 (twins) and Havyk aged 1.

Unfortunately, we have learned that Kenzie and Kaydance at the age of 2 were diagnosed with cerebral palsy.

What is it?

Cerebral palsy is caused by a problem in the parts of the brain responsible for controlling muscles. The condition can occur if the brain develops abnormally or is damaged before, during or shortly after birth.

Kenzie and Kaydance both have to wear AFO (leg braces) which need to be replaced yearly as they grow and Kenzie uses a wheelchair and a walker for transportation. Kenzie is also being fitted for a power chair.

In addition, Kenzie was born with a Giant Congenital Melanocytic Nevus. This is affectively a very large birthmark that covers most of her back. Because of its size and its location, Kenzie is at a higher risk of developing melanoma.

So far Kenzie has undergone 15 surgeries to manage her conditions, one of which was to remove a tumour from under her nevus and she is not done yet.

Our thoughtful brother and his amazingly resilient wife Kristin McDouall have found a surgeon in Chicago who is willing to perform six life-preserving operations for Kenzie to remove her Giant Nevus. The removal of her Giant Nevus will greatly reduce her risk of developing cancer at a later stage in her life.

In an effort to support our newly found family and raise funds to send our courageous niece to Chicago for her operations, we are performing the 'Suicide Six' Run on the 29^th of November. Therefore, we are asking you, our friends and extended family to sponsor us generously so that we can make up for last six years we have lost getting to know Kenzie and increase our chances of spending many more years watching her develop into a wonderfully spirited young lady and achieve the many things we can already see that she is more than capable of.

Thank you for your consideration

Anthony and Amy