Don’t be surprised if you spot a Superman, Batgirl or even Harry Potter around town this week.
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The Advertiser is one local business that is getting behind the second annual National Superhero Week for Muscular Dystrophy.
Staff will dress up as superheroes on Friday and will be collecting donations for the National Muscular Dystrophy Research Centre.
The event has doubled its predicted participation from last year and is taking the country by storm with close to 25,000 people involved.
Any organisation or school can host a Superhero Day to raise money for vital muscular dystrophy research.
Muscular dystrophy is a progressive muscle-wasting disorder that has 60 different variations and currently affects one in 1000 people globally.
The event aims to promote a positive message for children living with muscular dystrophy, that just like a superhero that walks amongst everyone by day but hides a super strength; a child with MD is just like other children but has developed super powers of resilience, creativity and wisdom.
“We at Muscular Dystrophy Australia (MDA) have utilised the theme of superheroes for more than a decade but it was only last year that we created this event which is now sweeping the nation,” Muscular Dystrophy Australia’s executive director Boris M. Struk said.
Mr. Struk founded MDA more than 30 years ago when his son Ryan, now 34 years of age, was diagnosed with the paediatric form of the disorder, Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD).
“When the doctor told me that Ryan – aged three at the time – had DMD, he told me to go home and enjoy my son because he would be dead by the age of 14,” Mr. Struk said.
“Gobsmacked by this blunt diagnosis I asked for more information, to which the doctor read out two lines from an outdated medical journal and sent us on our way.
“This sparked a fire in me to dedicate my life to making sure no other family had to go through that terrible experience and three decades on MDA provides national care and support programs, and is also the major sponsor of the National Muscular Dystrophy Research Centre (NMDRC).”
Mr. Struk has also recently been nominated for the 2015 Australian of the Year award and the 2015 Australia’s Local Hero award for his work with the muscular dystrophy community.
Proceeds from National Superhero Week will support research at the NMDRC. Visit www.superherodaymd.com for more information or call into The Advertiser at 155 Vincent Street, Cessnock to make a donation.
