The Gadaoni family, couple Rom and Thess with their daughter Thadine, joined the annual Herald Sun/City Link Run for the Kids 2018 held on 18 March. The fun run is a community event and is conducted to raise funds for the Royal Children’s Hospital Good Friday Appeal.
Rom and Thess organised a group to run with them and collectively called themselves Team Thadine. The group joined the 5km family friendly short-course. They do the fun run for their daughter who is afflicted with Rett Syndrome, but who still “lives an ordinary life despite extraordinary difficulties with courage and conviction day in and day out,” as stated in their appeal post. They also shared their reason for supporting the event. “We are joining the R4K again to give back and to show our gratitude to the Royal Children’s Hospital. We also hope that Rett Syndrome is a disease no one ever heard of because it is unknown, but because it is conquered.”
According to rettsyndrome.org, “Rett syndrome is a rare non-inherited genetic postnatal neurological disorder that occurs almost exclusively in girls and leads to severe impairments, affecting nearly every aspect of the child’s life: their ability to speak, walk, eat, and even breathe easily. The hallmark of Rett syndrome is near constant repetitive hand movements while awake.” It was first observed by Dr Andreas Rett, a paediatrician in Vienna, Austria when he saw two of his girl patients making the same repetitive hand-washing motion.
The Gadaoni couple raised a total of $3,351.49 from 41 donors for the appeal they posted.
For a record of their fundraising efforts, check out the site: https://runforthekids2018.everydayhero.com/au/romulae-jr-gadaoni.
