Oxford Brookes student receives national award for establishing a charity

Adam Tate, aged 31, established the ‘Fahr Beyond’ charity in 2016, after being diagnosed with the very rare neurodegenerative Fahr’s Disease in 2014. Adam was told that he could lose all movement within two years, with a predicted life expectancy of only eight years. 

However, Adam defiantly went on to establish the charity after noticing the lack of support or information available to those diagnosed with the disease; and has now been recognised with a British Citizen Award for Services to Healthcare, (BCAc).

Adam’s commitment to giving a voice to Fahr’s Disease

On Thursday 26 January, Adam, who lives in Nottinghamshire, was rewarded for his exceptional services to healthcare at the BCA Honours in London at the House of Lords, along with 28 other individuals who have also positively impacted communities across the country.

Adam was presented with his ‘Medal of Honour’ by Rhiannon Whelan, Head of Retail Operations from BCA, and TV presenter and BCA Patron, Nick Knowles.

After receiving the award, Adam said: “It is incredibly humbling to receive such an honour, to be among so many inspirational people. I set out on a mission to help provide a bit more information about Fahr’s, now Fahr Beyond is the global advocate for the Fahr’s community and has supported the creation of the only dedicated NHS Fahr’s referral service. 

“I am so grateful to everyone who has supported me and Fahr Beyond, and I look forward to furthering Fahr’s research and care standards.”

Fahr Beyond is the only recognised charity in the world to support and give a voice to those with the disease, which affects one in a million people in the UK. 

Fahr’s disease is a rare neurogenerative disease, characterised by abnormal deposits of calcium in the brain that affects movement, and can cause poor articulation of speech, tremors and muscle rigidity. It is a progressive disease which currently has no known cure.

Adam is a Senior Lecturer in Academic Practice at Nottingham Trent University.  He  is also studying for a part-time PhD in Education at Oxford Brookes University, where he is researching how full-time undergraduate behaviours and interactions are shaped by the soft power of the state.

The British Citizen Award is now in its ninth year of recognising individuals across the UK for their outstanding contributions to their communities. The award ceremonies take place in January and July each year.

BCA Co-Founder, Mark Faulkner, said of Adam’s work: “What Adam has achieved by forming this new and informative charity is life-changing for the estimated 80,000 affected by Fahr’s Disease globally. 

“To inspire the medical profession to pull together and create a UK diagnostic framework and a management framework for this rare neurological disorder is an amazing achievement. Adam’s humility is also to be admired, personally helping 10 families who have lost loved-ones to Fahr’s is a difficult undertaking. 

“His selection to receive the British Citizen Award for Services to Healthcare is a token of the gratitude that the nation owes him for giving a voice to those diagnosed with Fahr’s. We wish Adam Tate BCAh every success in his ongoing endeavours to enlighten the world about this disease.”