Nurse to run london marathon

A nurse who knows the importance of the air ambulance first hand is taking on the ultimate challenge to raise money – the London Marathon.

Emma Timms, who works as a cardiac nurse at University Hospital in Coventry, has wanted to run the London Marathon for years.

Emma said: “Since I was a little girl I have watched the marathon in awe of those running and hoped that one day I would take part. It’s on my bucket list. I decided to apply through the air ambulance and raise money for this worthwhile cause.”

Her ambition and achievement are even more impressive as Emma suffers from a cardiac condition herself. In February 2015 she was diagnosed with Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS).

POTS causes an abnormal increase in heart rate that occurs after sitting or standing. It typically causes dizziness and fainting. It affects everyone differently, but sufferers can struggle to work, so taking part in a marathon is an amazing achievement.

In October 2015, Emma was signed off work after a particularly bad flare up.

She said: “There were times when I wondered if I would ever make it back to work. I was encouraged to exercise along with my medication, gradually building to running. I had previously loved doing so, but had struggled in recent years. Slowly but surely, I fell in love with it all over again.

“As a cardiac nurse specialist, I have chosen to run for The Air Ambulance Service as I see the importance of its work every day. It often brings us our most poorly patients. Their chances of survival are vastly improved by its fast, lifesaving care.”

Jennifer Hughes, fundraising manager for the air ambulance, said: “We’re thrilled that Emma is running the marathon for us. A huge part of what we do is about teamwork – without the hard work of staff in our local hospitals, lives would be lost. And as our service receives no government funding, without people raising money for us in our communities, we wouldn’t be able to continue our vital work.”

To help Emma race to the finish line of her fundraising, visit her JustGiving page here: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/Emma-timms4