By Brendan Rees
Rod Floyd can’t hold a phone to his ear for more than a couple of minutes without his arm muscles becoming weak.
Twenty-three years ago, Rod was diagnosed with limb-girdle muscular dystrophy type 2B, a progressive muscle-destroying disorder with 60 different variations.
The disorder eventually causes immobility, respiratory problems and cardiac complications. Unfortunately, no cure has been found.
“Probably in the last two years, he’s significantly deteriorated and lost his independence,” says daughter Prue McKenna of Cranbourne. “He’s in a wheel chair permanently. He’s losing his ability to function independently.”
At 62, Rod can still use his arms but requires a hoist to get him in and out of bed.
In 2017, he was diagnosed with phenomena. “He could walk, not very far when he went into hospital but when he came out of hospital he lost all ability to walk,” says Prue.
Prue will join a host of enthusiastic runners and walkers at this year’s tenth-year anniversary Run for Strength Fun Run which is held on Sunday February 17 at Albert Park, to raise funds and awareness for Muscular Dystrophy Australia.
“Unless we raise awareness people don’t know about it,” says Prue.
“People still say to me now ‘we heard your story; we didn’t even know muscle dystrophy actually existed’.”
One in every 625 people in Australia are affected by muscular dystrophy.
Funds raised from the past decade have help fund research positions at the National Muscular Dystrophy Research Centre at the Royal Children’s Hospital, in the hope of finding a treatment or a cure.
