Matty spoke about his relay run from Canberra to Warrnambool to raise money and awareness about Creutzfeldt-Jacob Disease (CJD). Matty’s father died from CJD a few years ago. Dan Teehan also took part in the run. Both Dan’s auntie and mother, a past Victorian cabinet minister, died of CJD.
CJD currently has no effective treatment and people usually pass away within a few months of diagnosis. Matty noted that $97,000 had been raised but the run but it had also raised awareness of CJD and provided comradery amongst a group of people who had lost family members to the disease. The group plans another run from Adelaide to Canberra next year.
We thank Matty for sharing the story of this project and his experience with CJD with us.