Children’s Liver Disease Foundation supporter to run marathon

Lewis Bishop, from Frating, was so inspired by seeing his mum run the gruelling race last year he thought he’d have a go himself later this month.

The 30-year-old will be raising money for Children’s Liver Disease Foundation after his niece Delilah, four, was diagnosed with rare liver disease biliary atresia.

Those living with the condition suffer cirrhosis, scarring and loss of liver tissue and function as a result of bile building up in the liver and damaging it.

Team effort - Lewis Bishop, from Frating, and his niece Delilah (Image: Newsquest)

“Delilah is such a cheeky character and always has a smile on her face, you would never know that she has a liver disease,” said Lewis, a business manager at Lookers Land Rover, Colchester.

“CLDF have provided us with so much information that it’s given us all a greater knowledge and understanding of Delilah’s condition.

“And it’s not just about the support they have given so far, it’s the fact that they will be there for us all moving forward.

“Childhood liver disease is a lifelong condition and the fact that those closest to her have a support network through this charity is very important to me.”

Tough ask - the London Marathon

The idea of running the London Marathon did not occur to Lewis until last October when his mum Kathy took part in the event.

In fact, he admits, the idea of any running at all didn’t really hold much appeal.

“If you were to go back to last September, I didn’t do any running. I sat behind a desk at work all of the time and avoided exercise,” he conceded.

“But in October, as a family we went up to London to see mum run the marathon and I found it so inspirational that I signed up for myself as soon as I was able to.

To support Lewis’ fundraiser ahead of the race on April 23, visit bit.ly/3odAmMY.