Yasmin’s story
As many of you know, my daughter, Yasmin, has been living with chronic Lyme disease for many years.
As her father, it is difficult to describe what it is like watching someone you love have so much of their life changed by an illness that is still so poorly understood. Lyme disease does not simply affect physical health. It can affect someone’s ability to work, their relationships, their confidence, their independence and, at times, their hopes for the future.
I have seen first-hand just how relentless long-term Lyme disease can be.
Perhaps one of the hardest things is that there are still so many unanswered questions. Diagnosis can be difficult, treatment options remain limited, and many patients spend years trying to understand what is happening to them and searching for something that will help. Despite the number of people affected, research into Lyme disease remains desperately underfunded.
That is why I have decided to row across the Atlantic again: to raise awareness, support vital research and help give people living with Lyme disease a better chance of getting the answers and treatment they need.
Lyme disease is sometimes regarded as a relatively rare illness in Britain, yet it is now recognised as the most common vector-borne infection acquired in England. Behind every statistic are real people and real families whose lives can be profoundly changed by it.
What gives me hope is the progress being made through scientific research. Better diagnostic tools, more effective treatments and a deeper understanding of why some people continue to experience debilitating symptoms after infection are all essential if we are going to improve the lives of those affected.
Scientific breakthroughs do not stop at national borders. A better diagnostic test, a more effective treatment or a major advance in our understanding of the disease can ultimately benefit researchers, doctors and patients around the world.
This is deeply personal for me.
I cannot cure my daughter’s Lyme disease. I cannot give her back the years that have been affected by it. But I can do something.
So I am going to row an ocean.
It will mean thousands of miles at sea, weeks of rowing around the clock, exhaustion, storms and all the uncertainty that comes with crossing the Atlantic in a 24-foot rowing boat. But compared with the challenge faced every day by people living with chronic Lyme disease, it is a challenge I am incredibly fortunate to be able to choose.
I am doing it because my daughter, and everyone else living with this disease, deserves better answers, better treatments and real hope for the future.
If you are able to support us, whether with a large donation or a small one, you will be helping to support the work needed to bring us closer to faster diagnosis, more effective treatments and, ultimately, a cure.
For me, every mile we row will be for my daughter — and for every family waiting for answers.
Thank you for your support. It genuinely means more to me than I can say.
