Blistered feet raising thousands
After walking for three days and covering 170 kilometres, a group of Palmerston North firefighters are happy to finally rest their feet.
The six firefighters took on the Extreme Walk 2 D’feet MND to raise money and awareness about motor neuron disease.
The disease is a neurological disorder that deteriorates the nerve cells that control muscles enabling people to move, speak, swallow and breathe.
They began their three-day journey at 6am on Friday and arrived at Westpac Stadium in the capital about 1pm on Sunday.
Sufferers of MND generally die when the muscles that control their breathing stop working.
In New Zealand, more than 300 people are living with the disease and more than 100 die from it each year.
Firefighter Chris Kennedy said the disease was one people often struggled with behind closed doors, without much wider support.
The team of six rotated so two were walking, two were resting and two acted as back up for the entire walk.
Kennedy said once they reached Wellington the walkers were buggered. ‘‘Everyone had blisters.
‘‘Most people’s feet on the second day were covered in blisters. By the third day, they were hammered.’’
However, they were all determined to get across the finish line and the support they received while walking down was amazing.
Kennedy said it was the most humbling thing he had experienced.
‘‘The hard part was walking through the pain, but there was never an option of not doing it or stopping.’’
They aimed to raise $10,000 and Kennedy said after the walk they had passed that, attracting donations of $13,000, with the text-to-donate number still open for another few weeks.
‘‘The money was nice, but to get the awareness out was the biggest thing.’’ He felt they had achieved that goal. Text ‘‘walk’’ to 2449 to donate $3.
They began their three-day journey at 6am on Friday and arrived at Westpac Stadium in the capital about 1pm on Sunday.