Hello there, my name is Justin Missingham and my daughter Martha has eczema.
Me & Martha
Martha’s not alone – around one fifth of all children of school age have eczema in the UK and as many as one in twelve adults suffer from it. The severity of this disease (truly a ‘lack of ease’) ranges from hot, itchy skin to severe, debilitating flare ups that draw the sufferer into seeking temporary alleviation by hypnotic scratching. This scratching doesn’t help. It leads to physical symptoms like broken skin, bleeding and scaring and psychological and emotional symptoms like poor sleep, low self-esteem and irritability.
Over the 7 years of Martha’s life I have seen my daughter suffer the whole range of symptoms first hand, and all I can say is that eczema is a horrible condition to suffer.
I have its associated atopic condition asthma. (That last alone sentence is enough to spark an attack!) and while science has given me some magical medicines to alleviate my symptoms, people with eczema only have a limited palette of options for respite, like emollients to moisturise the skin and steroids to reduce inflammation.
People like the National Eczema Society are trying to find the causes and cures for eczema. This sponsored swim is my bit to help them in their work for everyone (Martha included) who has to suffer this condition.
So, to celebrate my 40th birthday; September 18th - and to raise awareness for National Eczema Week; 13th – 20th September – I’m going to do;
40 outdoor swims, over
40 days, to raise
£40,000.
If you’re itching to help me, or if you just want to know the page is there, you can sponsor me at:
But I can’t do it alone, I’ll need your help. So, welcome to my blog. Have a look around, sponsor me, get in touch, tell your friends and get involved…
GO ON, you know you want to!
Don’t forget, that’s:
July 24, 2008 at 1:34 pm
Hello Justin ,
Just a quick note to say how grateful the National Eczema Society is for your support – brilliant idea. Thanks also to everyone who sponsers you: £40,000 would make a huge difference to the NES and the help we can provide , in fact it could fund our telephone helpline for a year and every £ 10 you raise meens that we can help another 4 families who are struggling with the particular challenges eczema can bring. So thank you on their behalf as well
Margaret ( from the NES)
August 6, 2008 at 8:29 pm
Hi Justin, That’s a really lovely picture of you and Martha! Hope all’s going well. I’m back in London on Friday night, so we’ll catch up then. All my love, Andrew xxx
August 23, 2008 at 10:26 pm
Hi Just – what a fab idea! You’ve definitely chosen a hard way to raise the dosh. You could have done 40 swims in Portugal, Aussie or even down here in NZ. But no, you’ve chosen to do them in the frigid, grey coastal waters of Blighty. For that reason (and, as Andy noted, the gorgeous photo of you and Moo) I’m raching for the wallet. Good luck with it matey. Pete XXX