Dear friends and supporters – I don’t usually publish emails sent to me but this is a worthy exception.  A constituent of mine, Mitchell Bone, recently approached me with his story.  It is very moving and should prompt any one of us to respond.  I don’t need to add very much to Mitchell’s own words, which I have copied below.  But in short, I am happy to endorse Mitchell’s marathon fundraiser, have made a personal donation myself and encourage you to consider what support you can give too.

Good luck Mitchell!  Your run and your mission to save other children from cancer is borne of a father’s love.  Right behind you mate.

Dear Michael

Thank you for your valuable time today to discuss my challenge to run a marathon in memory of my son Callum Thomas.

I have no idea what else I can do that will help to find a cure for the hideous cancer that took the life of my son aged nearly 3 years.

It’s just so important to me to raise as much money for research into Acute Myeloid Leukaemia so one day we can beat this cancer, and kids have the chance to live their lives to the full.

I will never ever get over the loss of my lovely little boy, and hope one day I can help in stopping other parents suffer the pain of losing a child. My son should have out lived me, he should have enjoyed a full and happy life with his loving brother and sister. I can say it’s not fair but what is that going to do? I need to act and do what ever I can to stop this from happening to other children.

Any donation to my challenge will hopefully help save a child’s life in the future, what a more worthwhile cause can there be? The treatment for Callum’s AML has not changed in over 20 years – with help from donations we may be able to assist in finding a better treatment and hopefully one day a cure for this hideous cancer.

It only seems like yesterday I said goodbye to my sweet little baby boy after 2 years 9 months and 4 days of love and joy. I have thought long and hard since Callum Thomas was diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukaemia (AML).  What can I do in any small way to stop other children from suffering this hideous cancer?

I have decided to run a marathon to raise money for research into AML. To hope that one day with ongoing research something can be done to either cure this disease or improve the survival rate for children.

I have started running to lose weight and run the Sri Chinmoy Marathon in Melbourne on 29 May.

Please can you help me in making a difference to the future of a child in the future?  For any donations, it is easy – just go to www.fightcancer.org.au (Choose the red “DONATE” link in the right hand corner of the Home Page, then choose the red “Donate Now” link, and choose Mitchell Bone Marathon from the drop down box.  Thank you to anyone who does help this great cause and hopefully your donation will help save a life in the future.

Again thank you for your time

Yours Mitchell Bone

Mitchell has also recently started a Facebook group which you can join and follow his progress here:  http://www.facebook.com/pages/Running-for-Callum-Thomas/143209445744591