Ride for a Remedy! Ocean 2 Ocean – Perth to Phillip Island in 40 days
14/08/2023Catherine McAuley College staff member Ms Jo Giudice (School Counsellor) undertook an incredible personal journey for a remarkable cause, raising funds for spinal cord injury and Acquired Brain Injury (ABI) research through the Neurological Research Foundation.
Kicking off on 30 August, Ms Giudice embarked on an inspiring mission to cycle and walk Ocean to Ocean – from City Beach Perth, WA to Phillip Island, Victoria – all in just forty days!
“Over 700,000 Australians have an ABI. One in forty-five Australians are living with an ABI that limits their activities. ABI is common and affects people of all ages with almost three-quarters of these being under the age of sixty-five. 20,000 children aged under fifteen years have an ABI. Spinal cord injury that can result in permanent disability affects over 15,000 Australians. 60% of spinal cord injury survivors experience chronic neuropathic pain following their injury. Meaning they experience chronic pain in the absence of any pain stimulus.
“I am passionate about this cause due to my lived experience. All my life I have seen the effects of spinal cord injury and also, for over twenty years, I have seen the effects of ABI on the people I love most. I have watched it interfere with daily activities including balance, walking, eating, drinking, showering and sleeping. It also affects social and family relationships, societal engagement and of course both treatments and responses by the medical profession.”
