Pippa MyringCharity, Shine, are to host their first ever Archie Mills Memorial Challenge this year. The event is being organised in memory of Archie Mills, the son of former Manchester City and England football player and commentator, Danny Mills, who died due to spina bifda ten years ago.
Shine supports over 10,000 babies, children and adults effected by spina bifda and hydrocephalus. Spina Bifda, a Neural Tube Defect, causes a fault in the growth of a babies developing spinal chord (or neural tube) which means that it is left “open” and vulnerable to infection. This is the most commonly occurring birth defect which is compatible with life, and occurs during the first 28 days of pregnancy.
Although surgery can be carried out to close the defect, extensive damage to the nervous system has often already occurred. This is one reason why expectant mothers are encouraged to take folic acid three months before conception, helping to protect against such defects. Most babies with the illness go onto live into adulthood, leading challenging but independent and fulfilling lives.
Hydrocephalus results from prematurity in babies where a vulnerability in the child’s brain causes bleeds and internal damage. The illness effects 1 in 1,000 babies born in the UK, and can occur at any time in life due to illness or injury. Fatalities caused by the disease have been reduced thanks to innovative medical treatment; a shunt is surgically fitted into the brain, which drains away excess fluids.
Shine was formed in 1966, and has grown to become a community of 75,000 individuals, families, friends and professionals. They help to share achievements, challenges and information amongst those effected by the illnesses, and the people around them.
The Archie Mills Memorial Challenge involves cycling from Leeds on 22nd September (where the Shine North of England and West Midlands offices are based) to London, over 200 miles, non stop, then taking part in the Virgin Active London Triathlon the next day. Danny Mills, a dedicated patron of Shine, is looking for a national team of 20 people to join him in taking part in the Virgin Active London Triathlon.
A charity of obvious importance to him, Mills stated: “There are parents who need help when they experience the trauma of discovering that their baby has spina bifda or hydrocephalus after an ultrasound scan; families that require hours of support through long periods in clinics and hospitals, those that need specific answers to tough questions and there are individuals that could not cope on a day to day level without the assistance offered by Shine.”
Standard entry fee for the event is £75 (including a Shine running vest), and participants should raise a minimum of £500. Those taking part are also supported by shine to reach their training and fundraising goals. Anyone wishing to fundriase should visit Archie Mills’ Just Giving page here or visit Shine’s website here to find out more about Shine and taking part with Danny Mills.
