Web: www.mda.org.nz
Ph: 0800 800 337
E: bowtie@mda.org.nz
Judy Bailey helps make a WORLD of difference for Muscle Wasting Disease
The Muscular Dystrophy Association are proud to once again be supported by Judy Bailey
for its annual bow tie appeal (22-30th March). Judy will appear alongside MDA member, Nicholas
Brockelbank who lives with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy. Judy and Nic will feature on the
national television, radio and print campaign which the MDA hopes will bring greater awareness to
these rare conditions. “My long relationship with the association came about because of my son's
childhood friend who has Muscular Dystrophy. It was this relationship that drove me to get
involved and help progress the cause in New Zealand”, says Judy.
The MDA uses the image of a bow tie to demonstrate the difficulties our members face
doing many everyday tasks. The exclusively designed bow tie pins are available in all WORLD
stores, as well as ASB branches nationwide for a gold coin donation. There will also be boxes and
collections throughout the country.
The Association needs this campaign to be a success, people diagnosed with these rare
neuromuscular conditions have no one to turn to, and quite often even their GPs know very little
about these conditions. The MDA offers people affected one on one support, specialist
information, counseling and advocacy, to name just a few of the things it does.
The MDA’s biggest challenge is awareness of the association itself and wasting muscle
disease. Awareness is so low getting the much needed support to provide these vital services
through donations is incredibly difficult. “We are competing against much bigger causes and it’s
hard to have the voice we need for our clients”, says MDA Information and Resource Manager,
Jayne McLean.
Nicholas’s condition, Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy is a serious and debilitating form of
muscle disease. It’s caused by the absence of the protein dystrophin, causing muscles to
deteriorate and break down. As well as arm and leg muscles, the muscles involved in breathing
become very weak and it also affects the muscles of the heart.
People like Nicholas and his family need ongoing support, specialist information and for
someone to step up and be the voice for them and others with muscle wasting diseases – so it’s
one less battle they have to face, one less thing they have to think about.
Right now there is no cure and the treatments available have limited effects. There is so
much work that needs to be done in this field. Muscular Dystrophy and other neuromuscular
conditions are unpredictable and incurable. They can affect anybody, at any age. These disabling
conditions are often genetic and sometimes occur more than once in a family, however often there
is no previous family history.
There is hope for life saving treatments on the horizon. Since the human genome was
mapped there have been many research initiatives undertaken to understand and treat muscle
wasting disease. However as we are learning, the cost of any resulting treatments will be likely to
be so expensive that government funding agency Pharmac is unlikely to fund them, largely
because these are rare conditions. The MDA needs to be ready and able to fight this cause for our
clients now and in the future but rely heavily on donations to do this.
It’s simple to help this bow tie week, you can text ‘bowtie’ to 4483 to donate $3, call 0900
426 98 to make an automatic $15 donation, or donate securely online at www.mda.org.nz.
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For more information or for images, contact:
Deborah Baker
Marketing Manager
Muscular Dystrophy Association of NZ Inc
E: deborah@mda.org.nz
P: 09 973 2667
FP: 0800 800 337
Additional Notes:

Bow tie pins and other MDA merchandise available nationwide at ASB, WORLD, various
medical practises and retail outlets nationwide.