A cluster of prams, dogs, wheelchairs, scooters and people determined to make a difference in the 2017 Walk 2 D'Feet MND. Photo/ Stuart Munro
A cluster of prams, dogs, wheelchairs, scooters and people determined to make a difference in the 2017 Walk 2 D'Feet MND. Photo/ Stuart Munro
When Fiona Butcher moved to Whanganui with her hubby and three daughters, to take on Stellar restaurant and bar, she left behind extended family and friends.
Two months after shifting, her 56-year-old husband was diagnosed with Motor Neurone Disease (MND) and in less than two years he was gone.
Ms Butcher said it was the Whanganui MND support group that has kept her and her family strong and she couldn't thank them enough.
On Sunday, her three daughters and other family walked 5kms around the bridges with around 300 people to raise funds and awareness for what Ms Butcher called a "horrific disease".
Elliot (4) and Jax Robertson stop for a break. Photo/ Stuart Munro
The walk was part of an annual national campaign called Walk 2 D'Feet which has run in Whanganui for two years in a row.
That's thanks to Lana Hook who got the ball rolling after she lost her mother to the disease in 2015.
Ms Hook said it was a horrendous disease and watching her mother go through all that pain was heart-breaking.
"I was lucky my mum was so positive...first she lost her ability to speak and swallow and then she lost her ability to walk and for the last six months she was bed-ridden but she still had her mind which was the hardest thing."
After losing her mum, Ms Hook said she felt Whanganui lacked a support network which prompted her to get one together.
"Now we have a group of about eight of us and we meet every month or so and this walk has been an outcome of that."
With that, a cluster of prams, dogs, scooters, wheelchairs and people determined to make a difference covered the riverside walkway on Sunday.
Walks 2 D'Feet MND were being held all over the country on November 12 as the main annual fundraiser for MND New Zealand.
Around 300 people signed by for walk 2 D'Feet MND. Photo/ Stuart Munro
Half the money raised will go towards funding MND research, the other half to MND New Zealand to help provide support for people with MND and their caregivers.
Ms Hook said last year they raised around $2000 and they hoped to match that this year.
The Whanganui walk started and finished on the riverbank side of the iSite on Taupo Quay. It was about 5km on flat terrain and the entire walk was "wheel-friendly" - prams, pushchairs and wheelchairs were all welcome.
