On Saturday 9 November 2019, myself and 600 firefighters will be climbing the Sydney Tower Eye (Centrepoint) as quickly as possible in full structural firefighting gear to raise money and awareness for Motor Neurone Disease (MND).

Teams of firefighters will race to climb all 1504 stairs (98 floors), each carrying an additional 20kg of gear. It will be a grueling challenge, however it is nothing in comparison to the challenge patients with MND face every day.

MND is a progressive, terminal neurological disease. MND affects the nerve cells (neurones) controlling the muscles that enable us to move, speak, breathe and swallow, causing them the degenerate and die. A person’s senses and intellect are not affected. MND is Motor Neurone Disease, ALS, or Lou Gehrigs Disease. It doesn’t matter what you call it you don’t want it. Normal healthy fit people exactly like you and I get MND. It strikes indiscriminately, at any time and we still have no idea why and we have no cure. It is a death sentence, we are hoping to change that.

Every dollar raised will directly support vital MND research at the Macquarie University MND Research Centre. It won’t go to the organisers for wages or “admin”, we give 100% of the money we raise directly to the research facility.

Every cent helps and is tax deductible.

If you feel so inclined, please sponsor me, or any other firie that you know completing the climb this year. I promise to do you proud (and hopefully not break my leg before the climb this time).

If you don’t wish to donate, but would still like to support me, you can share my page, encourage me at the gym and ask how my training is going (got my time down to 23 mins at the moment FYI, the aim is under 20mins), set me a personal challenge to perform, or just come have a chat to me to understand more about why I do this ridiculous challenge and learn more about MND.

Thank you for your time,

Lauren Hankins.