A man from Burwell is running the London Marathon to raise vital funds for The Children’s Liver Disease Foundation (CLDF).

Adam Green is tackling the 26-mile challenge to improve on his previous time of four hours and 12 minutes and raise £2,000 for a charity very close to his heart.

The 31-year-old accountant, and his wife, Sammy, knew nothing of CLDF until their little daughter, Ella, was born in December 2022.

He said: “From the start, we knew all was not well with Ella. She was in intensive care for a few days as she wasn’t meeting all the expected markers.

“Although she was allowed home in time for Christmas, our health visitor was concerned about her jaundice and suggested we request a blood test.”

Ely Standard: Adam Green is tackling the 26-mile challenge to raise £2,000 for The Children's Liver Disease Foundation.Adam Green is tackling the 26-mile challenge to raise £2,000 for The Children's Liver Disease Foundation. (Image: CLDF)

Doctors referred Ella to a specialist unit at Kings College Hospital in London for further investigation which revealed she had Alpha 1 Antitrypsin Deficiency.

There are over 100 different liver diseases that can affect babies, children, or young people and often the cause is unknown.

Adam added: “It was a real shock to discover that our precious new baby, who was not even three months old, had a rare, lifelong condition we had never even heard of.

“It was a lot to take in but the staff at Kings provided us with excellent information about Alpha 1 and its implications which we now know is from Children’s Liver Disease Foundation.”

Adam explains that the CLDF enabled the family to come to terms with Ella’s diagnosis, reassuring them that they were not alone and decided to run the London Marathon to give something back.

Ely Standard: Doctors referred Ella to a specialist unit at Kings College Hospital in London for further investigation which revealed she had Alpha 1 Antitrypsin Deficiency.Doctors referred Ella to a specialist unit at Kings College Hospital in London for further investigation which revealed she had Alpha 1 Antitrypsin Deficiency. (Image: CLDF)

He said: “This was a big help to us in those early days and although Ella is thankfully doing well now and responding to treatment, she needs regular monitoring and will need the support of CLDF as she grows up and has questions of her own.

“Not only can I raise much needed funds for a cause which is now very personal to me but also raise awareness of a condition which affects around 1 in 3000 people, yet no-one has heard of.”

You can support Adam’s London Marathon challenge by visiting his Just Giving page.