Charity walk for motor neurone sufferer

A two kilometre charity walk will be held along Woy Woy Waterfront on Sunday, February 12, from 11am to raise money for Umina local Andrew Macintosh who was diagnosed with motor neurone disease in September 2010.

Mr Macintosh said he hoped to raise $20,000 to put toward a third trip to China for treatment in March.

Since October 2010, he has received a program of experimental stem cell treatment at the Tiantan Puhua Hospital in China.

This program required him to return to the hospital every six to nine months for further injections, physiotherapy, occupational therapy and application of traditional Chinese medicine until an alternative treatment was developed or a cure was found.

"Dr Zhou and her team are very professional and I realise that this type of treatment is still in its infancy ... but with this disease you need to try anything you can," said Mr Macintosh.

"Their approach is not to just give a series of injections and leave it be.

"They are trying to figure out the best way to treat me.

"They tell me that the improvements can last for a period of three to nine months except in rare cases and I will need to come back in probably six months.

"I met a lot of resistance in the West from the medical fraternity when I made the decision to undergo stem cell treatment.

"My feelings are that people need to come out and try these things otherwise there will not be any progress.

"Some people may get better results than me.

"Some people may get worse results than me but they are helping to make progress for others," he said.

Mr Macintosh was diagnosed with an aggressive case of the disease following a severe flu virus which saw him bed-ridden for five weeks.

The disease affects approximately 0.001 per cent of the population and has no cure.

The disease gradually paralyses the body leading to death by asphyxiation.

The life expectancy of sufferers is two to five years.

Email, 2 Feb 2012 Nicole Macintosh, Umina