Islander raises money for facial reconstruction patients

Sunday 29 April 2018

An islander has decided to raise funds for the Saving Faces Foundation, the only UK charity dedicated to the worldwide reduction of facial injuries and diseases, in a bid to mark her 30th birthday in a positive way.

Jennifer Logan, who underwent facial surgery on her jaw, took part in the London Marathon last weekend, finishing in six hours and 30 minutes.

While she is not an experienced runner, Jennifer decided last year that she wanted to tackle the 26 miles of the Marathon to help raise funds for the Saving Faces Foundation. She explained: "I was at home and I thought 'I am turning 30 and I want to do something.' I started researching charities and I ended up reading about Saving Faces. I have needed surgery myself so I thought I need to do this. I applied for a place to run the Marathon for them and didn't hear back immediately.

"They called me in November to say I had been chosen. I didn't expect it!"

Jennifer explained that she underwent Mandibular Surgery a few years back after her jaw stopped growing. "There was an imbalance so I had surgery a few times. It is a standard procedure but the surgeon in Jersey said it was his first major one. He had never came across a jaw like mine."

Having gone through facial surgery Jennifer said that choosing to support Saving Faces was an easy decision to make. "They aim to operate on people who need it and support those who have had surgery. I know the big effect facial surgery can have on you. It's your face, people see it every day. If you have surgery on your knee, you can hide it but you can't hide your face."

While she is used to attending gym classes and exercising, Jennifer doesn't run. She therefore spent most of her winter training. "I started with a goal of 5k three times a week, then I increased to 10k and more and more. I started training with my sister but then it got too hard for her in the winter. I ended up running with friends and then whenever I was free.

"I had an ankle injury recently so I nearly had to pull out but I thought of the charity and decided to continue. What's funny is that on the day it was the other leg that was acting up."

So far Jennifer has raised £1,200 of her £5,000 target. While it was her first time running for a charity, Jennifer says she will do it again. In fact, after taking a few days to recover, she will be putting her trainers on again today to run in memory of Matt Campbell, who tragically collapsed and died at the 22.5-mile mark. She explained: "The first two days after the marathon I was feeling really sore and like I couldn't do it but I then felt better. I was in London when we heard the sad news about Matt. Because I was there and I saw the Facebook group I decided to join in the run."

In the future, Jennifer also hopes to help raise funds for Saving Faces by launching a health box with healthy snacks including chocolate. She is still working on the project and has promised to release more soon.