A HAIRDRESSER is planning a 25 hour hairathon to raise money and awareness for the “dreadful and heart wrenching” disease which killed her beloved aunt.

Carrie-Anne Wise, 34, is speaking out about Huntington’s disease, an incurable hereditary illness which attacks the brain and nervous system over many years with horrendous affects.

Her aunt Valerie Sharp, 53, from Bedale, North Yorkshire, died in the summer after suffering for more than ten years.

“In the first stages it affected her throat, speaking was difficult and it’s really hard to eat and drink as choking is a real potential problem,” said Ms Wise.

“In the later stages it causes huge body movements and it’s impossible to keep still. People can almost be mistaken for being drunk because they stumble and are unsteady.

“Aunt Valerie managed amazingly well and was such a jolly lovely woman, but 18 months ago it did become so bad she needed professional care and was in a care home.

“What really surprised me was the number of people who had not encountered it before, it was sometimes a guessing game as to what to do to help her.

“At the home they had not treated anyone with the disease, nor had one of the GP’s, and when we went to register her death staff there had not encountered it,” she added.

Ms Wise, of Kirklington, near Bedale, is holding the 25 hour hair marathon at Watkins Wright salon in Thirsk from 2pm on Saturday November 15 when she hopes to do 24 cut and blow dry’s throughout the night until 3pm on Sunday. Her grandfather John Blades, from Bedale also died from the disease.

“There is no cure, it can be helped initially with drugs but so much more money is needed to research and develop these drugs and also to support the patients and families. It’s a dreadful, heart wrenching disease It seems one of those illnesses that is swept under the carpet and people feel uncomfortable talking about it,” added Ms Wise.

There are over 6,000 sufferers in Britain, the disease is caused by a faulty gene which damages nerve cells in parts of the brain. Children whose have a parent who is affected have a 50 50 chance of developing the disease at a later stage.

Ms Wise added: “We want to help sufferers and families who are currently having to cope with the effects of Huntington’s, it’s absolutely worth doing if we can help one other family,” added Ms Wise.

To support the event go to www.virginmoneygiving.com and look for Carrie-Anne Wise. The Huntington’s Disease Association website is hda.org.uk/