Emily Bates

I am running the London Marathon to support my daughter Josie and to raise money for lung health.

This winter my daughter, Josie, needed breathing treatment (again) for her 100th cold of the season due to her asthma. She was exhausted, sad and turned to the doctor as she was wearing her nebulizer and said "I hate asthma." The amazing doctor comforted her with, "I hate it too." Josie has never talked negatively about her disease, even when she was up all night needing to do her inhaler and having endless coughing fits. She also was nervous to tell her friends how she would need to sit out of sports and PE until she was feeling better. This trip to urgent care changed my perspective on Josie's experience and helped me decide we needed to do something to take control. We are turning Josie's helpless feeling into change. She has seen me raise money for other organization and she lit up with the idea of raising money for something that could make a difference to someone like her. She has also seen me run a lot of races, and to run one with her in mind brings a smile to her, ear to ear.

I feel honored to raise money for an organization that is taking steps to a creating a world free of asthma. It means even more to me to show Josie that we can find creative ways to fight back against something that feels so limiting. Josie also wants her brothers to be mentioned as well. One has a lesser severity of asthma and one doesn't have it at all. Both impacted by the toll it takes on the family as a whole. We agree that a world without asthma is a great goal to strive towards. We hope you can support us along the way!