South East Eventers League to support
Meningitis Research Foundation
Following their support of the MS Society last
season, The South East Eventers League has decided
this year to support The Meningitis Research Foundation
through one of the runners in this year’s London
Marathon on April 13th, Caroline Long (East Sussex),
who will run in aid of the Foundation because
of a brave friend and those like her.
Last November 25-year-old eventer Diana Man from
Tidebrook in East Sussex caught meningitis B (meningococcal
septicaemia) and spent 3 weeks in the intensive
care unit at Kent & Sussex. They saved her
life and gave her the most wonderful care. However
there was a further tragedy to be faced.
Diana spent nearly 3 months in the Burns Unit
at Queen Victoria Hospital, East Grinstead, who
had to amputate both her lower legs and some fingers
and deal with all the skin grafts. She has now
moved to Queen Mary's Hospital in Roehampton where
she is being fitted with prosthetic legs and is
learning to walk and cope with the other disabilities
she has. At least now she is able to come home
at weekends which is wonderful for her family
and friends.
Diana has been a member of the Eridge Hunt Branch
of the Pony Club since she was 7 and has competed
in many equestrian disciplines and passed her
A test in 2006. She has been a member of British
Eventing for some years and competed in the South
East Region JRN team. Diana was a regular competitor
at SEEL events and has produced her current horse,
Master at Arms, to Intermediate level. Master
At Arms is now with Emily Baldwin (Lamberhurst,
E.Sussex).
So Caroline Long, an Eridge Branch mother from
Waldron, has decided to run in aid of The Meningitis
Research Foundation and sponsorship will be very
welcome – please support her by donating at
www.justgiving.com/carolinelong2
They just don't know at present why this devastating
disease develops in some people and not others.
The terrible thing about meningitis is that it
presents itself with flu-like symptoms. By the
time you realise it is something more serious
- only a very short time later - it is generally
too late. The speed was just frightening for Diana
and her family, and it is only because she was
so young and fit that she pulled through.
As her mother Amanda says, ‘Diana is no longer
"ill" but there is still a long way
to go and the prospect of further operations.
However, most things will be possible in the future
- they will just take a bit longer to achieve.
She herself has been astonishingly brave and positive
about the whole wretched business - I admire her
enormously.’
The Meningitis Research Foundation funds research
to prevent meningitis and septicaemia, and to
improve survival rates and outcomes. They promote
education and awareness to reduce death and disability,
and give support to people affected. Their vision
is a world free from meningitis and septicaemia.
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