Woman with rare condition to wheel Great North Run
Cat RayA woman living with a rare chronic condition has said she "can't wait" to take part in the Great North Run, especially because she "never thought" she would be able to.
Cat Ray, 32, from Salisbury, who has Behcet's syndrome disease said her partner Chris Burton, "who never takes no for an answer", decided to "find a way" for her to participate when she told him "I'd love to do something like that".
Starting in Newcastle city centre, Ms Ray will be pushed around the 21km (13mile) route by her partner on 11 September.
Ms Ray said: "I'm still doing it. It just looks a little bit different for me."
She was diagnosed with Behcet's disease syndrome in 2013, a condition for which there is currently no cure and results in the inflammation of the blood vessels and tissues.
What is Behcet's disease?
- Behcet's Syndrome or Behcet's disease is a rare chronic, debilitating condition that results in the inflammation of the blood vessels and tissues
- Symptoms include genital and mouth ulcers, red, painful eyes and blurred vision, painful stiff and swollen joints, headaches, acne-like spots, and can affect any organ in the body
- In severe cases, there is also a risk of serious and potentially life-threatening problems, such as permanent vision loss and strokes
- Symptoms typically come and go in a series of flare-ups
- The disease can often, but not always, become less severe with age, where flare-ups become less aggressive and happen less frequently
- There is no cure
Source: Behcet's UK
Ms Ray has to undertake plasma exchanges every four to six weeks for three days, a process where they filter the plasma out of her blood and give her donor plasma.
She used to work as a cruise ship entertainer and said when she was first diagnosed with the condition that caused her to go down to six stone in weight and be tube fed for more than a year, "it was very much like - my life is over."
Cat Ray"You do go to that point - what does my life look like now, what am I going to be able to do?"
However, in the past few years, she said she had become used to the fact that she needs to use her wheelchair more and while she is unable to run "it's nice that I can still do it in another way".
Ms Ray said: "That's how I've tried to get through the ifs.
"I will get to where I want to eventually but I just have to take the long way round and do a few detours."
Raising money for Behcet's UK, Ms Ray who also has partial paralysis of the stomach and bowel issues, said it was important to fundraise for the charity that had supported her in her "times of real struggle".
Cat Ray"When I first became so ill I couldn't work, I was really struggling with how to deal with my employer, how to apply for different things to help me financially. They just held my hand every step of the way."
Ms Ray said because her condition was so rare, the charity had also helped to make her "feel less alone".
So far, Ms Ray and her partner Chris have raised more than £300.
CAT RAY"We wanted to get at least £100 each so we're really pleased", she added.
Looking ahead to the challenge, Ms Ray said though she knows she is going to "feel battered at the end of it", she is very grateful to her partner Chris and was "so excited to be doing it with him."
Ms Ray said: "He's from Newcastle and it means so much to him."
"It's been nice to do something that he loves," she added.
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