Date published: 29 June 2022 by Digital Team
A single parent from Eastleigh, Emily Ball, is preparing to run the London Marathon on Sunday 2 October, to raise funds for Rainbow Trust Children’s charity, a charity close to her heart.
Emily has been supported by Rainbow Trust since her four-year-old daughter Martha Moynihan was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia last November. The charity has made such a positive impact on the family that Emily is now training to run the London Marathon and is hoping to raise £5,000.
Rainbow Trust supports families who have a child with a life-threatening or terminal illness. When a child has a serious illness, family life is turned upside down and time becomes more precious than ever. Rainbow Trust pairs each family with an expert Family Support Worker who enables them to make the most of time together, giving them practical and emotional support, whenever they need it, for as long as is needed.
Emily says; “My daughter Martha was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia, a type of blood cancer, in November last year. Since then, Martha has started 115 weeks of cancer treatment that requires me to care for her full time as she needs daily medication and support with feeding and personal care. She has spells of weakness in her legs and the side effects of her chemotherapy include losing her hair, loss of appetite and irritability. Thankfully she is responding well and tolerating the treatment.”
Emily has two other children Clara, six, and Charlie, 17, and has relied on support from Rainbow Trust to help with the pressures of looking after Martha on top of busy family life. Her Family Support Worker, Cindy Steele-Jones, provides practical help such as helping with school collections and getting Martha's sister to her dance lessons. In addition, Cindy provides emotional support to the family and provides respite so that Emily can attend important personal appointments such as the doctor or dentist or go into work to see her colleagues.
Emily will be one of 68 runners in the Rainbow Trust London Marathon team, raising money and awareness for the charity by covering the iconic 26.2 mile route through the capital starting in Greenwich and ending on the Mall by Buckingham Palace.
Emily says; “I decided to take on this running challenge to help Rainbow Trust continue helping families like mine with a seriously ill child. I’d be very grateful for any support people can give in sponsoring me to run the London Marathon. The practical and emotional support provided by Rainbow Trust has been a life saver for me and my family and I’d love to hit my ambitious target of £5,000.”
Emily will be running on the day with her partner Paul Kinkaid and her friend and colleague Alice Forward from the Active Step Foot and Ankle Clinic in Whiteley. All three runners will be raising funds for Rainbow Trust and Paul’s company, Selfless Leadership, will also be contributing to his sponsorship for the race.
Anna Johnson, Events Manager at Rainbow Trust said, “It is wonderful to have a family we support in our team for the 2022 marathon, and we wish Emily, Paul and Alice the very best of luck for the big day. We will have cheering points across the course to give all our runners the support they deserve for taking on this immense challenge.”
To support Emily visit her justgiving page and anyone keen to run the London Marathon for Rainbow Trust in April 2023 visit our London Marathon signup page or email [email protected]
