Full firefighting kit for 170km
Firefighters walk 170km for charity
THE LONG WAY
When Chris Kennedy first heard about motor neuron disease, he had no idea what the abbreviation MND stood for.
But after his friend’s mum died from the crippling disease he wanted to do something about it.
Kennedy works for Fire and Emergency New Zealand and has this year organised an Extreme Walk 2 D’feet MND, which will see a team of four firefighters walking 170 kilometres in their full firefighting kit.
Kennedy wanted to to raise money, and said the disease was one people struggled with behind closed doors.
The neurological disorder slowly destroys the nerve cells that control muscles in the body and sufferers generally die when the muscles that control their breathing stop working.
Kennedy was particularly driven to do something as his friend had pulled Kennedy through one of the roughest times of his life when his niece died, all while her mum was in the final stages of motor neuron disease.
‘‘I said at the time ‘I don’t know what I’m going to do to help you but I will do something to make a difference’.’’
When he came up with the idea of walking from Palmerston North to Wellington in full firefighting gear, he was originally going to do it alone, but after talking to others, they wanted to be involved.
A team was put together with the plan to have two walking, two resting, and two backup walkers for the three days it was expected to take.
One of those backup walkers is Belinda Cadzow, also a firefighter, whose dad died of motor neuron disease 18 years ago.
She said her family had felt like it was the only one going through it.
‘‘Back then there was support but it was very, very limited and it wasn’t a disease people knew about.
‘‘When the family goes through [motor neuron disease], they are the ones having to see their loved ones wither away.’’
The team hoped to raise $10,000. The group would leave The Square at 6am on Friday, November 10, and arrive in Wellington on Sunday.
Text ‘‘walk’’ to 2449 to donate $3.