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Derbyshire teacher tackles London Marathon - 28/03/08

A Derbyshire teacher is running her first Flora London Marathon (Sunday 13 April) to raise money for a children's charity close to her heart.
 
Yvonne Salomé-Keetley, 51, from Darley Dale is donning her trainers and pounding the pavements for Children's Liver Disease Foundation (CLDF), the UK's only organisation dedicated to fighting all liver diseases of childhood.
 
Yvonne explains her reason for running: "My niece Erica was diagnosed with a life-threatening liver disease when she was just a tiny baby and although she had a corrective operation within a few weeks, her condition deteriorated over the years to the point where a liver transplant was her only chance of survival."
 
Erica, now 20 and living in Cornwall and training to be a teacher, was born with biliary atresia, an incurable condition in which the bile ducts become progressively blocked leading to irreversible liver damage. At the age of 11, Erica had to have a life-saving liver transplant and although doing well now she must take daily medication to ensure her body does not reject the donor organ.
 
Yvonne continues: "CLDF gave the family an amazing amount of support when Erica was first diagnosed and in the years that followed. My sister has run the London Marathon before for CLDF. This time, her husband and I are joining her to raise funds to enable the Foundation to continue its wonderful work. Ironically my husband Paul, and the only runner in the family, didn't get a place to run but he and my three children are coming along to cheer us all on."
 
Yvonne is training three or four times per week with runs, cycling and yoga to improve strength, stamina and flexibility. She is hoping to complete the race in under five hours and raise at least £1500 for Children's Liver Disease Foundation.
 
Catherine Arkley, chief executive of CLDF, says: "The money that Yvonne and her family raises will make a huge difference to the thousands of families like Erica's who are devastated by a diagnosis of childhood liver disease. Not many people realise that at least two children are diagnosed with liver disease every day in this country and CLDF exists to pick up the pieces and give families hope of a brighter future. We wish Yvonne every success on the big day."
 
If anyone would like to sponsor Yvonne's London Marathon run, they can donate easily on line by visiting www.justgiving.com/yvonnesalome-keetley or by calling CLDF on 0121 212 3839.
 
 
Ends
 
 
Further information from Jill Priest at Professional Communications on 01886 822077 or after 1st April, Rachel Markham at CLDF on 0121 212 6012.
 
 
 
 
Note to editors:
 
Children’s Liver Disease Foundation is a unique national charity that fights childhood liver diseases through funding pioneering research and educating healthcare professionals and the general public. Formed in 1980, it provides professional, emotional support to families affected and is the only organisation of its kind in the UK .
 
Childhood liver disease – the facts
 
•          More children in the UK are currently diagnosed with a liver disease than childhood leukaemia
•          At least two children are diagnosed with a liver disease every day in the UK
•          Most childhood liver diseases are life threatening; all mean a lifetime of care
•          There are over 100 different liver diseases that can affect babies, children or young people
•          For most childhood liver diseases the cause is unknown
•          Liver disease has no cure
•          CLDF is the only organisation in the UK dedicated to stamping out childhood liver disease