Phil Taylor to run marathon for friend with Dystonia

A RESTAURATEUR from Pevensey Bay is running in this weekend’s Brighton Marathon for his friend who is fighting an incurable brain condition.

Phil Taylor, who runs the Ocean View Bakery and Restaurant in the Bay, is hoping to raise awareness of and money for the Dystonia Society after meeting Pevensey Bay resident Nikki Whitbread who has had the condition since 1997.

Dystonia affects 40,000 people and there is no known cure. Thirty-year-old Nikki suffers with paralysis, muscle spasms and contortions and unbearable pain.

She has spent months in a wheelchair and had to learn to walk again. Her left arm and hand have been paralysed for nearly 10 years and is clenched in a contorted state. She is under the care of neurologists at Kings College Hospital where she has to go regularly for pain relief.

Despite her illness Nikki and her sister recently took part in the Hyde Park 5K Challenge and raised £780 for the Dystonia Society, which she says has been a great help to her and her family with care and support.

Phil, 45, who runs the restaurant with his wife Mel and their two teenage daughters Danielle and Beth, is a marathon veteran and has run in the Beachy Head, Hastings, London, Benidorm, New York and Las Vegas.

He has previously raised money for the Jayden Fund, MS and Downs Syndrome and is hoping to raise as much as he can on Sunday’s run.

“When I first met Nikki she came across as a very friendly and likeable young lady and we got on really well from the start,” said Phil.

“When I mentioned to Nikki that I had a place in the Brighton Marathon and was running just for the fun of running she asked if I would run for dystonia and help raise some money for the society, which has helped Nikki.

“No matter what she has been through whenever I see her she always has that warm happy smile upon her face.”
Nikki said this week, “I cannot put into words how much it means to me what Phil is doing for me, for the Dystonia Society and to raise money and awareness for my illness for everyone living with dystonia.

“It takes someone very, very special to step up and say, ‘I would love to run 26 odd miles for you and your charity’.”

Anyone wishing to sponsor Phil can do so at www.justgiving.com/Dystonias-Hero or by going into the bakery and restaurant in Pevensey Bay.

STORY SOURCE : EASTBOURNE HERALD