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Christmas Appeal 2024

Please give to help families impacted by Motor Neurone Disease and help us create an MND-specific psychology service

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$8,472

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$125,000 goal

Thanks to
36 supporters

Gift peace of mind this Christmas

This giving season, please show your generosity and donate to help us create an MND-specific psychology service to provide counselling and support to people faced with a terminal MND diagnosis as well as their family.

You'll be helping to create a service that will provide much-needed psychological support to people like Riccardo, Stella as well as grieving families like Emma's and Bev's.

MND Queensland is a registered charity and all donations $2 and over are tax deductible.

Your kind gift will help us reach our goal of raising $125,000 to build this vital psychology service.

For more information about our work or donating to MND Queensland, please feel free to call us on 07 3372 9004 or email info@mndqld.org.au

Watch a video from Leanne who lives with MND and believes an MND-specific psychology service would be valuable for those impacted by a diagnosis.

RICCARDO'S FAMILY STORY

My name is Riccardo, I’m 48 and I live with my wife and two teenage sons on the Gold Coast. I was diagnosed MND in June this year after noticing my first symptoms in October last year. It’s not the easiest thing to come to terms with, but I’ve always been practical about life and self-care. I believe in focusing on what I can do today and how I can best look after myself and my family as we face this together.

MND takes a lot from you, not just physically but emotionally. I see how it affects my family, and that’s where I believe mental health support is just as important as physical care. I’m fortunate to have psychological support via my NDIS funding package, but I know that those people diagnosed with MND after the age of 65 don’t receive this benefit.

My family and I are grateful for the support we've received from MND Queensland. Together we’ve managed with the practical side of things but there’s a gap when it comes to emotional and psychological support, particularly for people like me who need someone who truly understands the unique challenges of MND.

Having access to an MND-specific psychology service would be a game changer. Being able to talk with someone who truly understands MND would help me navigate this disease and support my family as we deal with the impact on all of us. That’s why I fully back MND Queensland’s efforts to introduce this service in 2025. It’s something that would benefit so many families like mine.

Please consider supporting their Christmas appeal so they can make this service a reality. Your donation could help provide critical emotional support to people living with MND and their loved ones.

EMMA SHARES HER DAD ERIC'S STORY

I lost my Dad Eric to MND in September this year. He was a caring and loving father who was still in the prime of his life when he was diagnosed. From diagnosis, his battle with MND lasted only 18 months, it was an aggressive and devastating disease that was a journey of grief from the beginning and greatly impacted all of our mental health. As a family, we would have benefited greatly from accessing psychological services to help get through diagnosis and the rapid progression of the disease as it stole everything from him, as well as the grief at the end of Dad’s life.

Dad was on MND Queensland’s Management Committee for a while and the organisation provides such wonderful services and supports for people impacted by this dreadful disease, but with more support, they could do so much more by offering an expert, dedicated, understanding psychology service. I fully support MND Queensland’s goals of introducing a psychology service as I know full well how beneficial it would have been for Dad and our family, and urge our community to get behind this effort by giving this Christmas. My family and I will be making a donation this Christmas in honour of my Dad and all those bravely living with MND who would benefit from connecting with psychological services. If you can give, please do, it means the world to those impacted by MND!

STELLA'S STORY

My name is Stella, and I live just north of Cairns. I’ve been married to Kevin for 21 years and we have a blended family with four children and three grandchildren (and I’m a proud grandma!). I was diagnosed with MND in early 2023. Receiving the diagnosis was devastating, and adjusting to this new reality has been a significant challenge. I can no longer speak and am easily fatigued, and the way MND is slowly taking so much from me – along with the reactions of those around me – has deeply affected my mental health.

Thankfully, I’ve had support from both the NDIS and MND Queensland (I'm pictured with my MND Advisor/Support Coordinator, Justine). I’m fortunate that the NDIS has funded psychology services for me, allowing me to connect with an amazing psychologist with lived experience who truly understands the journey of living with MND. While these services can't change my diagnosis, they have helped me manage the emotional toll, making life with MND a little easier to bear. MND might be a death sentence, but until the end you are still alive and able to live life how you choose and I choose to get out and explore, I choose to, as my friend in the UK said, ‘Kick Ass at MND!’

I’m incredibly grateful for MND Queensland’s dedication to supporting Queenslanders with MND, no matter where we live. I encourage everyone to support their efforts to introduce a specialist psychology service for people with MND and their families. Counselling is vital, not only for those of us living with the disease but for our loved ones who share this journey. Your donation can help make this crucial service a reality. Please give what you can this Christmas.

BEV'S STORY

My name is Bev and I lost my darling daughter Nicole to MND in August 2023. Watching her go through the progression of this terrible disease was heartbreaking and since her passing, I’ve become the sole carer of her beautiful five-year-old son, Samuel as Nicole was a widow when she had him. The grief we both feel is overwhelming – we’ve lost a daughter, a mother, and a piece of ourselves.

Fortunately, Samuel is receiving some counselling to help him through this difficult time, but as for me, I know the impact of losing Nicole to MND will be with me forever. While I try to stay strong for Samuel, I often find myself struggling with the weight of it all. The journey of grief after losing someone to MND is like no other. It’s a deeply emotional process, and I believe that having access to an MND-specific psychology service would be invaluable for families like ours

I know that MND Queensland is working to bring such a service to our State, and I can’t express enough how much it would help people like me, who have lost loved ones, and even those still facing this disease. Whether it’s preparing for the inevitable or finding a way to cope after the loss, this kind of support is something we desperately need.

Please consider donating to MND Queensland’s Christmas appeal. Your generosity could provide crucial psychological support for those of us navigating the heartbreak of MND. Together, we can help families like mine get the support they need to heal.

1800 777 175 (OR 07 3372 9004)

info@mndqld.org.au

1/89 Factory Road, Oxley, QLD, 4075