Turning garage and wardrobe clutter into something more in tune to your actual needs is generally the aim of a garage sale, but for Echuca’s Maureen Baker and Ross Veale there is a much stronger motivation.
The community-minded pair are combining resources, and enthusiasm, to stage a garage sale in support of Parkinson’s Disease Research on Saturday, November 20.
A close personal connection for the pair has encouraged them to plan the six-hour sale to continue the work of scientists into treatments for the disease.
The Riv is also jumping behind the cause, hoping to create enough interest in the sale at 61 Francis St in Echuca to create a substantial contribution to the cause.
A lifelong friendship with Noel and Sandra Prout was the inspiration behind the decision to push ahead with plans to stage the fundraising sale.
“All three of us had motels in Moama at one stage or another and we are good friends,” Maureen said.
“Their son, Vaughan, was diagnosed very early in life with juvenile Parkinson’s and through the last 10 years we have staged several different events in support of research into the disease.”
Vaughan Prout was just 32 years old when he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s and for the past decade has been battling the degenerative disease.
It is rare to see Parkinson’s in people under the age of 50.
The disease has gained worldwide notoriety with the much-publicised plight of Muhammad Ali (who died in 2016), along with Hollywood’s Michael J. Fox and comedian Billy Connolly.
Fox subsequently has been an advocate for finding a cure and founded the Michael J. Fox Foundation in 2000 to help fund research.
Vaughan recently underwent an operation in Melbourne, which had been developed specifically for Parkinson’s sufferers.
The deep brain stimulation (DBS) has been life-changing for the father of two.
A six-to-eight hour operation, there is the potential for surgery complications, but in Vaughan’s case the operation has allowed him to make tremendous improvements.
Parkinson's disease causes irregular electrical signals in parts of the brain that control movement, hence the tremors and shaking associated with the condition.
DBS uses electrical stimulation to modulate these control centres deep to the surface of the brain, improving communication between brain cells.
This helps to reduce symptoms, such as tremor, slowness and stiffness.
“He had the operation in Melbourne less than a year ago. It’s a very expensive process,” Maureen said.
“That is one of the treatments that came out of the research.”
She said a recent move, when the decision was made to downsize, led to the garage sale fundraising concept.
“They (Noel and Sandra) were helping us pack and I said ‘let’s have a garage sale for Vaughan’,” she said.
“We had put everything into storage and we have a heap of stuff. There is just too many items to list them all.
“We have furniture, toys, kitchen items, bedding, just about everything.”
A large shed, decent-sized driveway and an abundance of items makes the 61 Francis St location of the garage sale in Echuca perfect for the weekend event.
“We lived in Tyler St and have just moved 200m away,” she said.
There will be the traditional sausage sizzle happening to enhance the fundraising effort.
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