Whanganui walks for motor neurone disease

People set off from Whanganui's i-SITE on the Walk 2 D'Feet Motor Neurone Disease. Photo / supplied

People with an advanced case of motor neurone disease can't walk any more - so nearly 200 Whanganui people walked 5km to help them.

Sunday's walk was the third fundraising Walk 2 D'Feet Motor Neurone Disease, organised by Lana Hook and the Whanganui motor neurone disease (MND) support group.

The walkers were preceded by the West Coast Bombers roller derby team, and they brought with them lots of dogs and young children in prams, Hook said.

She's involved because her mother died of MND about three years ago. Most of the support group's members have been affected in some way by the disease.

The walk on Sunday probably raised nearly $2000, and there are still raffles to be drawn this week.

The money will go to MND New Zealand, and be used to support families whose members have MND. It will also be put into research into the group of MND diseases, and Hook said lots more needs to be known about them.

Motor neurone diseases kill the nerve cells that activate muscles we use to move, speak, swallow and breathe. Without being activated the muscles waste away and die.

Most people live 20 to 48 months after diagnosis. There are more than 300 people with MND in New Zealand, and it's more prevalent here than in other countries.

The cause of the disease is unknown, but 10 per cent of sufferers have inherited it.