Jayne Ambrose with her niece Louise Skedd after Saturday’s run (credit: Louise Skedd)
Jayne Ambrose, 64, was diagnosed in the summer with the condition, which has turned her life upside down.
Her family’s home has had to be adapted for her, including changing a downstairs room into a bedroom with a hospital bed and installing a wet room.
On Saturday morning, a team of four runners and five cyclists, including Jayne’s niece Louise Skedd, set off from Gainsford End, near the Essex border with Suffolk.
22 people, of a mixed ability, each ran different distances and a baton was passed from one group to the next at different check points, with the baton sanitised at each handover.
They completed a 67-kilometre journey to Jayne’s home in Bush Elms Road in just over eight hours, with Jayne’s grandson Elijah crossing the ribbon with the baton and giving it to his Nanny as family and friends clapped and cheered.
Jayne’s daughter Charlotte (left) and son-in-law, Craig, lead a group of runners on one of the legs (credit: Louise Skedd)
Louise, a former GB heptathlete, called it “a truly humbling and heart-warming day.”
She said: “Jayne is basically the rock of her family. She’s just an amazing woman who would do anything for her family and I just felt like I wanted to do something for her for a change.
“She’s always rushing around, helping all of us lot and it was just nice to do something for her instead.”
The fundraising page had a target of £7,000 but has since surpassed £10,000.
“She’s lost all ability to move her legs; her whole house was never equipped for that sort of disability so pretty much everything in their house has to be completely changed,” Louise said. “This money will make their lives so much easier.”
Jayne’s husband, Mark, said: “She’s always been ‘Mother Hen’, she’s always looked after everybody else. It’s nice that people have made contributions to her donation. They remember Jayne – what she’s done for them in the past – and have shown their appreciation.
“Louise, bless her, has worked so hard on this and we’ll be forever in her debt because she has done so much. Thanks to everyone who has been involved and helped and everyone who has made a donation, it is really appreciated.”
You can donate to the fundraising page here.
Runners making their way through Finchingfield in north Essex (credit: Louise Skedd)
Louise also thanked Dorrington’s Bakery in Dunmow, which handed sausage rolls to runners as they went past, and The Ongar Delicatessen, which provided them with brownies, water, and Lucozade.
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Tags: Essex, Havering, Charity, Hornchurch, Motor Neurone Disease, Fundraising
