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When Nina Lansdowne tragically lost her husband to an undiagnosed genetic heart defect while living in Sydney two years ago, she was left shattered by the cruel blow.
Yet the vivacious Aucklander, whose husband Craig passed away aged just 25, was stunned to discover a genetic connective tissue disorder called Marfan was the likely cause. Sufferers of the syndrome tend to be tall, with long limbs and often have heart complications.
Now Nina is seeking to raise awareness and funds for the killer condition by running the New York Marathon in November.
“Craig’s death was unusual and although they haven’t been able to confidently brand his genetic defect, so many of his symptoms were similar to Marfan such as height [Craig was 1.98m tall], limb length, chest shape, heart palpitations and more,” tells Nina, who went to bed on July 17, 2014 at 10.45pm only to wake up to find Craig non-responsive 45 minutes later.
“No health practitioner ever mentioned the syndrome to Craig and the first I heard of it was when the paramedic arrived at the scene and asked directly if he had Marfan syndrome.”
Nina (26) started dating Riverhead-based Craig aged 19 and the pair married in 2012. The high-achieving couple both graduated with first-class honours degrees in their fields, and six months before Craig’s death, they relocated to Sydney.
Craig landed his dream job with a leading industrial project design company while Russian-born Nina, who moved with her parents aged five to a new life in Auckland, took on a job as a podiatrist.
“Craig looked at the world in a unique way,” explains Nina. “He did so much good for others. Through his work, he designed a purifying water table to be used in third world countries. He changed the way I look at the world and I am not the same person for meeting him. I am much more selfless.”
Nina hopes by running the New York Marathon, she can help raise funds for the US-based Marfan Foundation, which will aid research and – she hopes – help prevent another young person prematurely dying.
But how does she think Craig would view her marathon bid?
“Oh, he’d think I was crazy, but awesome too,” she says.
To contribute to Nina’s fundraising, visit givealittle.co.nz/cause/nymarathon.
Words: Steve Landells
