Chesterfield legal aid solicitor to run 2019 London Marathon
Chesterfield crime solicitor Denney Lau has been successful in securing his place in the 2019 London marathon.
His chosen cause is the Papworth Hospital Charity. This organisation sets out its aims thus:
“As a charity, our purpose is to enhance patient experience which in turn reflects the ethos of Royal Papworth Hospital and its staff, who work tirelessly to give patients the best quality of care. To ensure this standard of care continues to be offered, the Charity looks to not only support current services and care for patients but also proactively look to the future and support innovations that will help to tackle the growing prevalence of cardiothoracic diseases and conditions, thus in turn helping the local and in some cases national healthcare economy.”
Denney’s aim is to raise enough money for a pace maker that will make a real difference to the life of the recipient.
Personal motivation for taking on the challenge
Denney will be taking his position at the start of the 2019 London Marathon in memory of his father Tom Lau who passed away 10 years ago.
His father had suffered a major heart attack and was rushed to his local hospital before being rushed to the Papworth specialist hospital.
The hospital never gave up on the treatment of Denney’s dad and was able to prolong his life by fitting a secondary external artificial heart and was able to spend the following months at home with family.
Denney says that as a result of this treatment:
“I was able to make many happy memories with my father, including introducing him to my now wife, attending our engagement party and he saw me qualify as a solicitor, and in our new home.”
Unfortunately, the family knew without a transplant his dad was on borrowed time, and his heart eventually gave out a year later.
At the time of his father’s death, Denney is the first to admit that he himself was overweight and unfit. He has been able to turn his grief into a positive motivation to become fit and start running. This London Marathon will be the culmination of that program.
Running the 2019 London Marathon
Denney says this about his motivation to raise money while running the 2019 London Marathon:
“I really hope that we can raise enough together to literally save one person’s life, or even to extend someone’s life even for a short period so happy memories can be made.”
