Just over 400 people in Ireland, nine of them in County Louth, are living with Motor Neurone Disease (MND) which is often referred to as the 1,000 day disease because most people die within 1,000 days of first symptoms.
The outreach nursing service provided by the IMNDA which helps over 400 people and families in 26 counties is the only service of its kind in the country and it is funded entirely from public donations.
They badly need your help so they are asking you to follow in the footsteps of Fr. Tony Coote who walked from Donegal to Cork – some 550 kilometres, and raised €600,000 for Motor Neurone Disease.
From these miraculous funds, IMNDA were able to hire a much needed fourth outreach nurse to care and support people living with Motor Neurone Disease in Ireland. This has been invaluable, allowing IMNDA’s nursing team to reach more people in the community more often.
Now IMNDA are calling on you and your loved ones to get walking together once more and continue what Tony started!
Obviously they don’t expect you to walk 550k, just five will do nicely! They’d like you to be part of their “Walk 5K While You Can in your community” event this September. You can register your event online by simply visiting www.imnda.ie
Lillian McGovern, CEO of IMNDA says ‘The funds raised from While You Can by all the incredible people involved, helps us to sustain our nursing service and grow our outreach care further.
“It’s so important to keep people in their own homes. They need the care and support of their close family and friends, and they need to remain active in their community.
“Our outreach nursing service, along with our other key supports, enables us to do this. And that’s why we desperately need you to join us this September in your communities, so we can raise the crucial funds needed to continue caring and supporting our MND community.
“Please help us honour Fr. Tony’s incredible achievement and in turn help hundreds of people nationwide who are affected by this cruel and debilitating disease.”  
Claire Byrne, broadcaster with RTE and this year’s Walk While You Can Ambassador, will be joining in and asking you to get involved. Her personal friendship with Fr. Tony means she is continuing his fight.
“I will be walking on September 10th September to remember Fr Tony Coote. Will you join me and walk in your community? Walk while you can, where you can! Your support means vital funds will be raised to provide people who have MND with the crucial support and care that they and their families need and deserve. I’ll be doing my bit and walking on September 10th. Together we can make a difference!”
All the information you need can be found on www.imnda.ie
