(c) MRSA Action UK May 2010
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  Colin |
Ex Royal Marine Carl Millington, pictured right with his wife Nicola, completed the London Marathon in memory of his Uncle Colin Law who died one day before his 33rd Birthday from MRSA. Carl completed the course in just over 4 hours despite problems with his knee. Carl will also be running four marathons in aid of Help for Heroes, we would like to thank Carl for this brilliant achievement and hope that he will be back on the road to recovery in readiness for this next challenge. We look forward to the photos Carl and will post them here shortly. We asked Carl to tell us more about running the Marathon, his rigorous training, and what it means to him.
"Prior to my Uncle Colin passing away I knew very little about MRSA. However upon finding out that his death could have been prevented, my naivety was soon replaced with frustration and anger. My anger was towards those who could let such negligence become common place in such an environment; after all I thought hospitals were a place that you went to, to get better, not worse. I have chosen to run the London marathon to raise public awareness on the subject of MRSA and other healthcare related infections so that others don't have to learn the hard way as I myself, and so many others have had to.
"My reasons for running the marathon are not so different from the mission of MRSA Action UK who intend on using such public awareness as a means to influence Government and healthcare providers in the fight to prevent MRSA and all healthcare infections. They go about doing this by sharing knowledge and best practice and by providing an advocacy and support service for victims who have been affected by healthcare infections.
"In the Royal Marines we used to run every day, sometimes carrying large amounts of equipment and some days carrying nothing at all. However when you do this for a living you tend to not appreciate it very much, and to be honest when I got some down time, running was the last thing on my mind. However, now that I am a fully fledged civilian I have no excuses. Deciding to run the marathon for MRSA has changed my attitude to training, no longer do I go the gym and throw some heavy weights about, but I have started doing lots more running, I have even dragged the Missus (Nicola) along, and I think she's starting to enjoy it too. Every time I run I vary the distance and tempo, some days I do short fast runs and other days I do long slow ones. The hardest part about training is finding the time, I am a Personal Trainer in London and at the moment I spend more time telling people how to run than I run myself.
"Earlier on this year I did the Adidas half marathon as a tool to gauge my fitness, this was also the first ever civilian race I have participated in. I finished in the sub two hour group as planned, however the old knee was playing up a bit and caused me a little bit of trouble. Fully aware that my knee might slow me down a bit in the upcoming marathon, I am not phased, after all, when I look at those coming back from Afghanistan with no legs and arms, I think myself lucky. This brings me nicely on to my next adventure. Myself and two other lads are going to attempt four marathons in four days over the lake district, raising money for Help for Heroes, for more info visit http://www.justgiving.com/Four-Marathons-in-Four-Days "
If you or someone you care about has been affected by a healthcare infection and you wish to discuss this with us, please contact us at info@mrsaactionuk.net
