The tragic loss of Aylesbury's Ian, just 27 has inspired his sister and husband to run the London Marathon

Katy Howard and her Husband Matt are set to run the London Marathon as a tribute to their brother, Ian, 27, who passed away from Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy.
Katy Howard and her Husband Matt are set to run the London Marathon as a tribute to their brother, Ian, 27, who passed away from Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy.Katy Howard and her Husband Matt are set to run the London Marathon as a tribute to their brother, Ian, 27, who passed away from Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy.
Katy Howard and her Husband Matt are set to run the London Marathon as a tribute to their brother, Ian, 27, who passed away from Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy.

All money raised will be donated to the Douglas House hospice.

The couple are planning to raise £5000 in Ian's memory.

Katy and Ian at WembleyKaty and Ian at Wembley
Katy and Ian at Wembley

You can donate to the hospice here: https://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/KatyandMattHoward

Katy said: "Matt and I are honored to have been selected to take part in The London Marathon 2019 to raise money for Helen & Douglas House – a wonderful hospice which made such a difference to Ian’s life.

"Anyone who knows us will know that this will be a huge challenge for us (we are more of a movie and takeaway kind of couple rather than fitness fanatics!) but we are going to achieve this for Ian and do this in his memory.

"Every single step we take in training to the big day will be for him."

Katy and Ian said goodbye to Ian on August 8, 2018, aged 27.

Friends described him as "the most extraordinary young man, who always saw the best in any situation".

Ian was born with Muscular Dystrophy and succeeded all expectations, as his life expectancy was early teens.

Katy reflected on the awfulness of the day Ian passed.

She said: "August 8 was one of the worst days we have experienced as a family.

"Ian had been in intensive care for three days, struggling to breathe. It was initially suspected as a cold, but me and my Mum decided to stay through the night to ensure he was okay.

"Unfortunately at 3am in the morning the intensive care team came in to wake us, telling us that Ian was in danger and might not make it through the night.

I had to make the calls to our closest friends and family to let them know it might be time to say goodbye. Incredibly, they all made it to the hospital within minutes.

"I remember the doctor coming in to see me whilst I was waiting for everyone to arrive and he told me that they had brought Ian back, that Ian was a fighter, that Ian did not want to die alone surrounded by hospital staff. Even the Doctor had tears in his eyes as he was speaking to me.

Ian survived the night, but only just.

In the morning, Katy and her family were called to a consultancy meeting where they were told Ian had just 1% of muscle mass left in his body, which had been left ravished by the disease.

Katy said: "At 1pm that afternoon, we said goodnight to Ian, he died surrounded by 10 of the people that loved him most in this world. It was the most perfect death that anyone could of wished for as we watched him fall asleep for the last time."

"Ian would not of wanted us to be sad, he even said to my Mum a few months before that he didn't understand why people cried at funerals as the person had already gone and that he wanted his funeral to be happy and full of colour and it certainly was!

"Ian's courage and determination meant that we got a proper goodbye, to be surrounded by those who loved him the most now gives us an unbreakable bond. Whenever I feel myself getting upset, I think of what he would of told me to do and it gets me by.

Katy describes Ian as "more than just a brother to me, he really was my inspiration."

Katy went on to highlight the incredible work that Douglas House Hospice does, saying it helped him regrow his confidence, surrounding him with love, happiness and support.

Katy sent various messages to celebrities, asking them for supportive messages to read to Ian in his last moments, and Jamie Redknapp was kind enough to respond and give her four tickets to the filming of A League of Their own.

Katy is now selling draw tickets, and anybody who would like to buy one can email her at [email protected]

To see how their training is getting on, and other information, please visit their facebook page here: https://www.facebook.com/thehowardslondon2019/