Hi there,

In this Autumn edition of Nerve Centre, I’d like to personally thank you for your support of MSWA.

Click here or click the image below to watch the video message.

Melanie Kiely
MSWA CEO

“We absolutely love our new Services Centre!”

This joyous photo captures the moment our Albany staff saw the completed interior of their new Services Centre.

At MSWA, we are excited that our new $7m Albany development is nearing completion, and that the adjoining High-Support Accommodation is also on schedule to welcome its first residents.

“It was awesome to see the facility for the first time. We were overwhelmed! It’s finally here! It’s unbelievably huge compared to our last facility. And there’s still furniture and physio equipment to come!”

- Caroline Clarke-Smith, Outreach Coordinator Albany (pictured far right)

THANKS TO OUR COMMUNITY OF SUPPORTERS

This state-of-the-art development is made possible by your generosity. In particular, participants in our Albany events (and their sponsors) have directly helped us to expand our footprint in the Great Southern, increasing our capacity to support regional people living with neurological conditions.

The recent MSWA Albany Ride saw just under 200 cyclists help raise over $42,000 (and it’s still climbing). An absolutely remarkable achievement!

You can check out some photos from the big day here!

Albany Riders (above): Brad, Paul and Nick from Worst Pace Scenario, the highest fundraising team this year.

PS – missed out on the MSWA Albany Ride? Register for the MSWA Albany Swim below!

Researcher in Focus: Dr Onno van der Groen

We are pleased to introduce you to a local researcher whose work has been directly made possible by you, our fundraising community.

Dr Onno van der Groen is leading the Motor Interventions in Neurological Conditions (MINC) trials at Edith Cowan University. The trials utilise modern gaming technology and an exoskeleton called ‘Mindpod’ (pictured above) to improve health outcomes for individuals living with neurological conditions.

Dr van der Groen explains:

“The Mindpod motion capture and gaming system enables fun exploration and practice using whole arm-hand movements to guide a dolphin in a gaming environment. This immersive and engaging technology is an innovative tool for intense training”

The MINC trials are part of a broader Research Program SPIN (Systematic Profiling in Neurological Conditions) which was founded at ECU in 2019 and has been generously supported by MSWA since its inception.

“Little did I know that I would need MSWA’s help one day”

“I used to donate, and I’d always buy a lottery ticket from MSWA,” recalls MSWA Client Margaret Cable. “Little did I know that I would need their support one day.”

Margaret was diagnosed with MS two years ago, at the age of 59. But her journey with MS began over 15 years ago, when she first noticed a weakness in her right arm when raking the garden. Unfortunately, over the next decade, despite worsening mobility on her right side, visits to the GP and a specialist never amounted to a referral for an MRI.

It wasn’t until Margaret booked in to see a podiatrist for her walking difficulties that multiple sclerosis was first suspected. “I hadn’t even sat down and the podiatrist said, ‘Margaret you need an MRI to find out what your neurological problem is’.”

Pictured above: MSWA Client, Rhys Coffey, and Morre Coffey

Fundraiser in Focus: Rhys Coffey

Coffey’s cooking has done it again!

In January, Rhys Coffey held his second fundraising BBQ for MSWA and raised just under 5k for fellow Western Australians living with a neurological condition.

Over 300 people came to the Mangles Bay Fishing Club on a hot afternoon for a BBQ of epic proportions! The day was filled with raffles, a live band, cooking demonstrations, face painting, and activities for the kids, not to mention a quick dip in the ocean to avoid the heat.

Rhys, a BBQ aficionado, whose adventures have their own social media following, catered for the crowd with the help of his many supporters, including fellow MSWA Clients.

Rhys explains his reason for holding the event was to raise awareness and to give back:

"What the day meant to me was all about raising awareness for invisible disabilities and giving something back to the people who helped me transition to my new life with MS. It was about doing something for the community and raising money to find a cure. As I have said before, the way I do it is through BBQ, and being able to share something I love with a passion I have. It was simply amazing bringing over 300 people together in the name of charity through BBQ. It was one of the best days of my life! This is my second fundraiser and I’m going to continue doing them in the future as long as I can."

From all of us at MSWA, thank you Rhys.

If you are planning your own unique and amazing fundraising event for MSWA, the team at Nerve Centre would love to hear about it:

Did you know our Clients are now using the Mindpod system in their weekly therapy?

If you’ve happened upon one of our Clients playing a video game while wearing a robotic exoskeleton recently, you can be forgiven for wondering what on earth is happening at MSWA’s Wilson facility!

We’ve recently installed a Mindpod system, a cutting-edge piece of wearable technology that restores and improves upper limb function for people with restricted arm movement.

What we love about this news is that the Mindpod is the end result of a local research trial funded by MSWA (we featured it at the top of this newsletter). It perfectly demonstrates that when you enter our lotteries, join in our events, fundraise or donate, you enable us to fund neurological research that goes full circle – out the lab and back into our Services Centres for the benefit of our Clients.

Read more about Mindpod, the MINC trials and MSWA’s commitment to research here: