Exeter lung disease sufferer's incredible achievement

When Sarah Henderson was diagnosed with severe bronchiectasis in December 2013 little did she realise that months later she'd be running a half marathon.

Earlier this year, things took a turn for the worst when her lungs became colonised by the superbug Pseudomonas Aeruginosa which resulted in several admissions to hospital and means she now has to take antibiotics every day to keep the bacteria at a low level.

Sarah, 22, from Exeter, has had a cough for as long as she can remember but has always been told by doctors that her breathing problems were caused by her asthma. As a result of the late diagnosis, Sarah’s lungs are irreparably scarred.

She said “I started running just after my second fortnight in hospital last June. At first I couldn’t even run for 30 seconds but I used the NHS ‘Couch to 5K’ programme to gradually build up the distance”.

“Running has been really good for my lungs – I currently have to do 1 hour of physiotherapy a day but without the running, that would increase to 2 hours”.

Sarah was inspired to take up the challenge when some of her colleagues ran the Great West Run for Exeter YMCA last year. The charity, where Sarah volunteers, houses and supports homeless young people as well as running various projects in the community including youth work and job clubs for the unemployed.

Sarah completed the Plymouth Half Marathon last Sunday in a time of 2 hours 32 minutes, raising over £700 for Exeter YMCA.

If you feel inspired by Sarah’s story, Exeter YMCA will have a team of runners taking part in this year’s Great West Run go to www.exeterymca.org.uk/gwr for details. To sponsor Sarah £2, text ‘YMCA64 £2’ to 70070.