A SPECIAL fundraising drive has provided a memorable New Year’s Eve celebration for one local resident and her extended family.
With her fighting spirit, 21-year-old Zoe Teague has been battling a rare disease.
She is believed to be one of only about four Australians with Hereditary Inclusive Body Myopathy disease, which has rendered her a paraplegic.
Diagnosed at 14, the disease slowly attacks the body’s nerves and muscles and has no known cause or treatment.
While living with the disease has been a challenge, Zoe had every reason to welcome in the new year following a major fundraiser which enabled her to be flown to Melbourne for a family reunion.
Zoe’s sister Krysta and her partner George, who both reside in Queensland, were a driving force behind the fundraising efforts.
Through a work fundraiser at the Chinchilla gas pipeline project, an auction held on December 23 raised $35,000.
Of that, $20,000 was donated to the Royal Flying Doctor Service and $15,000 paid for the RFDS return flight to Melbourne so that Zoe could enjoy a memorable New Year’s Eve experience.
“Zoe is completely paralysed so there’s no other way we could get her there,” Zoe’s mum Wendy said.
For more on this story, see Friday’s edition of The Guardian
(04/01/13).
