Following in dad’s fundraising footsteps

Dad Derek took on the London Marathon for us in 2014 and now, like father, like son, 9-year-old Cormac has decided its his turn to give something back and help others affected by this horrible disease.

So, during the whole of Advent, Cormac, from Brighton, will be running – come rain or shine (and in all likelihood fog, frost and hopefully some seasonal snow too) 3 km every day to reach his target of 75km on Christmas Day.

It’s all because, as Cormac told us: “When I was just two days old, I suddenly became very ill with a really high temperature.

“It turned out that I had a horrible bug called meningitis, which had got into my blood stream and travelled up towards my brain.

“As I was really sick, I was rushed to NICU, which is intensive care for babies. Here I was looked after by an amazing team of doctors and nurses, who saved my life.”

Lucky to survive

Mum Vicky added: “Cormac was very lucky to survive meningitis and septicaemia and doubly lucky not to have suffered any long-term, life-changing physical difficulties or injuries as a result of it. 

“We were very grateful for the support we received from Meningitis Now over the phone and also met with a lovely lady who came to visit shortly after we brought Cormac home.”

Cormac added: “Luckily for me, I am now fit and healthy and can do all the things a typical 9-year-old can do – run, swim, ride a bike and play football.

“However, some children are not so lucky and are left with lots of lifelong problems after recovering from meningitis.

“So, this Christmas I’ve decided to give a little back and raise lots of much-needed money for Meningitis Now.”

And he’s certainly doing that. 

Cormac set himself an ambitious £250 target for his fundraising but he’s already smashed that. So far it stands at £1,335 and he’s hoping for even more. 

If you’d like to contribute you can support his efforts through his fundraising page