Motor Neurone Disease’s devastating impact on its sufferers is well-known.
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The degenerative condition results in neurones, or nerve cells, failing to work properly, which in turn leads to wastage of the muscles used to move, speak, breath and swallow.
Deterioration can come quickly as it is not uncommon for death to occur within a couple of years of diagnosis, though many survive well beyond that point.
Former VFL footballer and AFL coach Neale Daniher has demonstrated just that, having received his diagnosis in 2013.
Daniher has especially raised the profile of MND, his hard work resulting in millions of dollars being raised for medical research into the disease.
The thing about MND is it shares one quality with just about every other disease in that it does not discriminate.
One of those is the Border’s Peter “PK” Kent, who received his diagnosis in 2017.
As Albury councillor David Thurley pointed out, it was unfortunate that many people in the community knew someone battling what is know as the “beast”.
His own brother-in-law succumbed to MND so you can understand his passion for trying to defeat this “terrible thing”.
The work launched by Daniher has shown that hope exists, with researchers recently announcing advancements in treatment that would not have otherwise come about.
This gives substantial weight to the words of Anna Skilton from Fight MND, who commented that “we like to say it’s not incurable, it’s just underfunded. Without you, we can’t fund a cure.”
Everyone who came along to support Mr Kent and Mr Ross and all those with the illness should be congratulated on what they achieved in completing their 25 fund-raising laps of Bunton Park.
But it is also important that we all continue to do what we can to help to ensure this much-needed research continues.
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