Why We Support MND Research

APM Advisors + Accountants supports MND Australia (Motor Neurone Disease). I have been asked on various occasions why has APM chosen to support this important foundation. It’s a great question.

Back in 2005 my wife and I were talking in bed. She said that her Dad had finally requested a referral from his local GP to a specialist for the shoulder pain he had been having for quite a few months. I remember replying he did not need a specialist he just needed to chop less firewood.

My father-in-law had an open fireplace and one of many things he did in retirement was to continuously look at opportunities to collect and chop up firewood. I had known of his sore shoulders but had always assumed it was because of all the firewood he chopped. He had an immaculate wood collection bordering his home’s back fence. Once the back fence was full, he then started on the side fences and once they were full he convinced his sister to allow him to stack firewood at her home as well. He had a hell of a lot firewood. Each piece of wood was chopped virtually the same size and stacked meticulously in line. He would remind us all that it was a work of art.

A few weeks later my wife and I were again laying in bed talking when she told me that her Dad had gone to see the specialist and he been diagnosed with a rare illness called Motor Neurone Disease, a disease that neither my wife or I knew much about. I had heard of a client who had MND, it caused him to have limited movement in his legs for a long time, but he seemed ok. I did not think much of it and assumed it was a form of muscle tightening, and with some physio and exercises he would probably be able to overcome it. My wife  accompanied him to his next appointment with the specialist to discuss what the next steps would be to overcome this illness.

15 years down the track most of society now know what MND is and what the prognosis is for people that have been diagnosed with it. Terrifyingly, the disease is now also referred to as ‘The Beast’.

Even after we met with the specialist and were told that MND is fatal we still could not imagine how insidious it really is, with the average survival time being between two and four years. MND slowly and painfully works its way through the human body, slowly locking down the muscular system to the point that sufferers can no longer breathe.

My father-in-law was a jovial happy larrikin who was more of a mate to me than a parent-in-law. He was the life of the party, always making people laugh with his funny jokes, the tricks he played, or the countless singing and dancing exhibitions he performed to entertain his family and friends. Unfortunately, in January 2009 he passed away, devastating us.

MND has recently gained far greater public awareness through the tremendous work of many well-known celebrities and the numerous MND foundations around the world.  At APM we are committed to helping further raise public awareness of MND while assisting in raising funds to help develop a cure. Being involved in the fight to defeat MND gives us a sense of satisfaction and pride for our efforts. As a tribute to my father-in-law it’s the least we can do.