Thank you to all our Heroes of the Heart. We have several teams who are turning their footsteps into well-earned dollars for heart research.
26 year old, Daniel Stucken was diagnosed with a heart condition known as Arrhythmogenic Right Ventricular Cardiomyopathy (ARVC). The consequences of this diagnosis not only meant that Dan was unable to continue participating in the many sports and activities that he loved but also affected him on a professional level. As a pilot the diagnosis meant that Dan would lose his medical exam and therefore his ability to pursue his passion for flying. In the following three months, Dan under went multitudes of tests to try and determine the severity of his condition. Unfortunately due to the extreme nature of Dan’s case he went into cardiac arrest on the 8th February this year and was unable to be resuscitated.
In honour of Dan, over 30 of his closest friends and colleagues participated in the Blackmores Sydney Running Festival as The Pacemakers Team raising vital funds for HRI. Members of the team completed either the Marathon, Half Marathon or 9km Bridge Run, with one member completing the whole 9km run dressed in a chicken suit! The team raised over $12 000 in the hope of promoting awareness and raising funds for much needed research of this rare but all too often fatal disorder. The team plans to continue this tradition in the years to come.
Thank you to our Hero of the Heart Team 'Pestana Realty' for supporting us in the Gold Coast Marathon.
Pestana Realty also came in the Top Ten Fundraising Teams this year for Everyday Hero.
The Petsana Realty Team:
Johann R. Castro, Larinda Timu, Michelle Udy, Andrea Tuhoro, Kathy Renata and Alex Quarente.
"Pestana Realty has supported The Heart Research Institute for a number of years now as we believe that the ground-breaking research it facilitates is of immeasurable value to the community. We also have a personal reason for involvement in fundraising for the Institute as one of our Team Members has coronary artery disease and hypertension with a strong family history of both. We were very happy to participate at the Gold Coast Marathon to support HRI and is hoped that our small effort will assist the Institute in its work.." Bev Pestana
Congratulations and thank you to everyone who supported 'Team Pestana' and The Heart Research Institute.
See Channel 9 news coverage on Youtube
The MK Challenge team took on the biggest physical challenge of their lives by setting out to ride over 1000km from Sydney to Melbourne to raise money in support of heart research.
As a 32 year old regular bloke, Paul Keegan liked a drink, smoked 40 cigarettes a day, did no exercise and ate too much take away. In 2006, his father died of a sudden heart attack and a few years later Paul's doctor gave him a frightening prognosis - he was likely to become another victim of heart disease.
Paul never had the chance to say goodbye to his dad, but he wasnt going to ignore the warning.
"I set my mind to taking on a physical challenge that would involve serious training - getting me off the couch and onto my bike."
Paul and his MK CHALLENGE team (in honor of Paul's father, Michael Keegan), successfully completed the 9 day ride on Saturday 13th March, raising around $35,000.
"The ride has helped us all to change our mentality on how we live and treat our bodies, and most importantly, our heart" Paul said.
Paul says he hopes the MK CHALLENGE has helped motivate people to get out and do more exercise.
Lee Charles Marriage (22/5/1982 - 10/10/2008) was born in Godalming, Surrey, UK and moved to Australia in 2005. Tragically, Lee collapsed from an arrhythmia whilst competing in the City to Surf 2008 at 26 years old. He was from a large family with two sisters and two brothers who along with his parents and grandparents reside in the UK. He was a talented Senior IT Consultant at Unique World in Sydney. He absolutely adored living in Australia and loved Sydney very much. He was charismatic, youthful, energetic and beloved.
The team of 'Lee Marriage Groupies' include his girlfriend, close friends and workmates who all miss his cheeky smile everyday.
Richard, a great friend of ours, tragically passed away at the young age of 31 due to coronary artery atherosclerosis (disease). To try and get something positive out of this we have decided to run in the City 2 Surf and raise money for The Heart Research Institute.
The HRI is currently undertaking research to find new ways of detecting atherosclerosis, the same condition that led to Richie being taken away from us. We hope that in some small way we can ensure that fewer and fewer people are affected each year.
Being a keen runner and a fan of anything that kept him fit he would have loved to run with all of us in the City 2 Surf (I know he attempted to lure me into it a few times!) and while sadly that will not be possible we're going to run it for him. With his positive attitude and heart-warming laugh in our minds we'll make sure that the team Tasich spirit lives on...
Team Tasich geeing up before the start! Enjoying the moment after a gruelling 14 km race!
The Tasich fundraising team included Adrian Anderson, Ian Bush, Mark Condon, Michalee Davis, Matthew Faries, Hayley Gamble, John Mckell, Glen Murray, Ian Warrington.
Congratulations and well done to all our teams - you are all Heroes of the Heart. We have raised a phenomenal amount of funds (and still counting!) which will go directly towards research at The Heart Research Institute.
Big Bob", a 1942 Boeing Stearman WW2 Open Cockpit trainer bi-plane has flown more than 4,000 km across Australia to raise money for heart research.
Bob Merkenhof passed away from heart disease in 2009 when he was only 59 years of age. Two years before he died he had begun work on restoring “Big Bob”, a 1942 Boeing Stearman WW2 Open Cockpit trainer bi-plane. Bob’s son Ben Merkenhof understood his father’s passion for the project and made it his mission to see “Big Bob" roar into life again. The restoration was completed and now Ben has brought “Big Bob” back from Perth to Cessnock in NSW to raise money for The Heart Research Institute (HRI).
"The idea of completing this aircraft as a legacy to my father is overwhelming. For so many years I strived for my father’s acceptance, as all sons do. To finally be involved in this moment in time is simply heart wrenching.
Thank you