A Night To Help Fight MND In Geelong

Imagine going to the doctor after realising your once powerful handshake wasn't as powerful as it used to be. Imagine then being hit with the words. "I'm very sorry you've got a disease called Motor Neurone Disease. There is no treatment, there is no cure." Life expectancy after diagnosis is between two, and two and a half years. Imagine being 51 years old, and being hit with the news, that you're almost at the end of the road. That was what happened to Neale Daniher and he has somehow found the strength to use his diagnosis to help others. Neale has bravely been battling this horrid disease for the past five years, and is using his celebrity profile and his own story to raise as much awareness as he possibly can.

Neale Daniher of Essendon & Melbourne FC.

Anyone who knows Wooshka Photobooths, knows that we are a sucker for a good cause, and we are always more than happy to donate one of our booths wherever we can. So when we saw Vincent Handley of EBV (Entertainment By Vin) promoting his fundraising event with Neale Daniher to raise funds to fight MND, of course we jumped on board enthusiastically and donated a photo booth hire, so the people attending could pick up some fun snaps on the night.

I decided I would attend the photobooth on the night (which was not the norm for me), as I was very interested in hearing Neale's story (and it's always good for the boss to actually maintain a little bit of hands on experience in the business) plus it was a nice way to help give back to a worthy cause.

So there I was, listening to Neale courageously speak, and getting hit with a giant dose of reality. Here is a man, who's body is slowly degenerating, speaking openly and honestly about the things he is going through. Not to benefit himself, but to assist others diagnosed with this disease in years to come.

Neale talks about going through the stages of shock, anger and of course looking for someone to blame, then the inevitable, wanting a second opinion.. Once diagnosis confirmed it was the bastard Motor Neurone Disease, Neale took some time out and wallowed in his misery for a while, and who could blame him? But his resilient fighting spirit came forging through. He found himself searching for any positive that he could find from his situation.

He chose to dedicate his time and energy to raising awareness for the fight against MND.

Listening to his story I was in complete awe, there I had been, finding myself feeling run down as a mother, and over the past few weeks I had felt the negativity creeping over my mind set. My kids were too loud, my house is always messy, my 6 year old keeps getting in trouble at school, life is just so hard etc. Taking for granted the fact that Im healthy, albeit always tired but healthy and alive.

Neale's motto slapped me in the face; "Shit happens in life, all you can control is your attitude"

“While I can talk, I’ll keep fighting,” Daniher said

More than 2,000 Australians are living with the ultimately fatal disease that causes the nerve cells controlling movement, speech, breathing and swallowing to slowly die.

The event was very well organised and the night ran seamlessly, assisted by Wes Cusworth who was brilliant in his role as MC.

Comedian Dave O'Neill had the crowd in fits of laughter. There was a silent auction, raffle and speed

artist Joe Zapp created a uniquely designed painting of Neale on the spot! Which was later auctioned off to raise even more funds. Buckley's absolutely nailed the customer service and the food!