Team Mudgee will once again enter Cystic Fibrosis Australia's car rally, The Great Escape, and they're hoping to raise awareness of the disease which does indeed affect this region.
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Husband and wife Ken and Susan Constable will pilot the Commodore, with Jon Chapman and Troy Leathem in the Falcon, as the team expands for the 2019 event. In the last three years they've raised just over $40,000.
"I did my first rally two years ago, with Jon, and we've built since then to a two-car team with a support vehicle. Which is courtesy of the sponsorship and the work we've put in over the three years," Ken said.
However, he admitted that it wasn't until local mother Cassie Jones - whose son Charlie Rixon has CF - organised a special fundraising screening of the film Five Feet Apart in May, that he wasn't aware of any locals living with the genetic condition.
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"We were one of the only teams there that wasn't directly affected by Cystic Fibrosis, 90 per cent of people in the rally are directly affected through a family member or good friend who suffers from it," he said.
"Until this year we didn't even know there was anyone in Mudgee that was affected, it was only that I saw the movie fundraiser. It's not just the person with the disease who suffers, there's a flow-on effect to their families as well."
CF causes an abnormal amount of excessively thick and sticky mucus within the lungs, airways and digestive system. Leading to impairment of the digestive function of the pancreas and traps bacteria in the lungs resulting in recurrent infections and irreversible damage.
There is currently no cure, with medicine and treatment required daily in order to live a normal life.
Jon said that the rally raises funds for the Australian Cystic Fibrosis Data Registry, which improves the lives of people with CF, as treatment breakthroughs and innovation are made.
"They monitor progression of the disease and it's one of the main research tools that's used to look for a cure," he said.
The Great Escape September 2019 (beginning Monday the 9th) is from Cowra to Canberra via the South Coast. Teams are two to four people, using cars that are at least 20-years-old, and two-wheel drive. More info at cysticfibrosis.org.au/greatescape
- Anyone wanting to support the local team can contact Ken on 0409 397 738.
