Ewan runs the London Marathon for his valentine

Matilda is my fiancée and we’ve been together for seven years. I’ve been there through all the highs and lows of cystic fibrosis and seen how it impacts her. When we first met, Matilda was in and out of hospital a lot, but her health has been much better since she started taking Kaftrio.

Living with an invisible condition

People with CF can appear fine on the outside, and so many people don’t realise what they go through on a daily basis. I knew hardly anything about CF when I met Matilda, just what I’d been taught in year 10 biology, but then you start peeling back the layers and realise the medication, the physio, everything it takes to stay well. 

The thing that surprised me most about CF is the toll it takes psychologically. That feeling of being scared to pick up any bug; it’s something I’d never even considered. 

About five years ago Matilda was admitted to Stoke Hospital. She was there for two weeks for a course of IVs. We were both working for a hospitality company at the time, she was washing dishes, and it was a horrendous environment for her health. 

It was that moment I knew we had to get out of there and make something of ourselves. 

We set up a business, just me and Matilda. At the time, it was an online e-commerce store. It allows us to be flexible – so if Matilda needs to do physio, or needs time away, she doesn’t have the pressure of having to go into in to work. Making sure Matilda is okay has, and will always be, my driving force. As long as we’re by each other’s side, I feel like everything will be okay. 

Matilda is incredibly strong; she’s the strongest person I know and her resilience, and the resilience and courage of everybody with CF, inspires me and is what made me want to run the London Marathon for Cystic Fibrosis Trust and play my small part.

Running the London Marathon for the Trust 

My training for the London Marathon is going well. I have a plan which I’m sticking to and I’ve seen big progress in the last few months. There will be lots of people coming to London to watch me and I know it’s going to be a really emotional day. In those toughest moments, I know what will keep me going is that I’m running for everyone with CF. The first time I did a half marathon I saw Matilda about a mile from the finish line and it just got me through it. I ran the fastest I’d run all race and I just broke down at the finish line. It meant so much to me. 

I hope the money I raise will go towards more research, so we can get to a point where CF is not even a thing anymore. It just doesn’t exist. It might not be for Matilda’s generation, but for future generations. That’s my hope. 

The thing I love most about Matilda is how supportive she is; she is genuinely my number one fan. We support each other in each and every aspect of our lives together. 

You can sponsor Ewan, here. 

If you’re inspired by Ewan’s story and would like to take on your own challenge as part of #TeamCF, you can find the event for you here.  

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