Medical breakthroughs don’t happen overnight, even when lives depend upon them.
But clinicians and researchers keep chipping away; taking those small steps that might one day deliver giant leaps forward for some of humanity’s most devastating conditions.
Conditions like motor neurone disease (MND) – a terminal neurological illness that, day by day, steals your ability to move, to eat and drink, to speak and laugh and, eventually, to breathe.
Life expectancy following diagnosis is, on average, just two to three years. That’s the horrifying reality for Morayfield man Ray Beere: a few short years of progressive pain, weakness and fatigue, isolation and fear, with limited treatment options and no cure.
“You never think this is how life’s going to be for you,” said Ray’s wife, Estelle.
Pictured, RBWH patient, Ray Beere.
Research into MND is making progress, but it’s slow, complex and chronically underfunded. With your support, we can give some of the brightest minds and most passionate clinicians the resources they need to – in Estelle’s words – “solve this puzzle”.
Just like a puzzle, MND research is made up of tiny pieces that must be discovered and painstakingly assembled before the picture can become clear.
Ray Beere before MND diagnosis.
Ray Beere with MND diagnosis being treated at RBWH
That’s why this September, Estelle is encouraging others to join the RBWH Foundation regular giving program.
Regular giving offers funding security that enables researchers to push the boundaries of what’s possible, leading to transformational breakthroughs and the development of cutting-edge technologies.
It helps equip doctors with state-of-the-art technology to provide new diagnoses and offer the best possible care. It also enables us to fund projects that offer extraordinary opportunities to change the future for so many patients.
For Associate Professor Robert Henderson, Queensland's leading expert on motor neurone disease, the RBWH Foundation has been a catalyst for progress since he received his first grant in 2002.
“The RBWH Foundation has been with me for the last 20 years, helping me to get my own research career off the ground and giving our team a major lift – helping us stay together and progress our work.
“With every piece of research and clinical trial you learn a little bit more about the disease. One day, a trial will be the one we need.”
Associate Professor Robert Henderson
When Ray learnt about Professor Henderson’s research, he volunteered for a clinical trial. The decision wasn’t just for himself – it was also for generations of MND patients to come. Sadly, on Saturday 19 July, a courageous three and a half years after being diagnosed, Ray lost his battle against MND.
At Ray's memorial, his family requested that donations be made to support vital research.
Ray enjoying his woodworking hobby with assisted technology.
Ray (middle) pictured with Professer Robert Henderson (right) and wife, Estelle Beere (left) at RBWH.
“Eventually they’re going to discover a cure for MND, and the only way they can discover that is by running these trials – I’m happy to be the guinea pig. But this research also needs funding,” said Ray.
