Professional IT steps up to challenge the Arctic for Motor Neurone Disease and Breast Cancer Research
Next February sees Professional IT's Managing Director, Steven Smith and his wife Karen taking part in the 2008 Arctic Challenge. This event takes the participants to the extreme both in terms of personal endurance and adventure as they 'mush' with dog sleds over 200kms through the ice and snow of Sweden's northern wilderness.
The Challenge takes place over eight days. The sled teams leave from Kiruna in the north of Sweden, taking a day to get acquainted with their dog teams before heading out onto the trail. The terrain takes in a mixture of snow and frozen lakes, with overnight accommodation a mixture of lodges, igloos and camping.
Steven and Karen have both been training hard in preparation with a gruelling combination of running, cycling and weight training 5 days a week. Just back from cycling London to Amsterdam and The Oxford to Cambridge bike ride, specific Arctic training for the challenge starts in November.
Working with huskies and under supervision by specialists they will learn do deal with handling the dogs and how to cope in Arctic conditions. This training will be essential as the temperatures are expected to drop to -40 degrees during the challenge.
Far from being a holiday, Steven and Karen intend to raise, as Steven puts it, “a serious amount of money for both the Motor Neurone Disease Association and Breast Cancer research, a challenge in its own right.”
The Smith's family have sadly been touched by both of these diseases as Steven's mother passed away ten years ago, less than 18 months after being diagnosed with MND. Steven says, “Watching Mum deteriorate was a terrible experience. It quickly robbed her of the ability to walk and talk. MND has really galvanised me into action. The sooner a cure is found the better."
It's been two and half years now since Karen was diagnosed with breast cancer, and although she has fought a successful battle against the disease, it has been a long, hard and continuing journey which has impacted on the whole family.
“You have to restructure your entire life,” says Steven. “We had a baby, and my daughter was four. It has been hard for her, especially when she had to see her mum lose all her hair and then spend two years of treatment, going in and out of hospital.”
The nursing and care that Karen received both in hospital and from Macmillan Cancer Support were, in Steven's words, “...tremendous. The oncology nurses are just magical people, with what they have to deal with on a daily basis. They were and still are there for us both and it's their gusto, coupled with Karen's that drives us on.”
As to the future, Steven and Karen are living each day as it comes. “We're focussing on the positive things in life. You never know what's around the corner and if it may come back, which is why it's important to raise money to try to find the cures for these terrible diseases.”
Steven and Karen are asking you to dig deep for both MND and Breast Cancer research. Help them to achieve something amazing by making a real difference to people's lives by assisting research into these two diseases that affect so many people today.
Don’t delay, please donate today. It’s simple and easy at: