Every two Australians are diagnosed with Motor Neurone Disease.
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It's this statistic which has spurred on an East Maitland firefighter to take on a gruelling 1504 climb up one of Sydney's most formidable towers.
On November 9, Nicole Sutton will join hundreds of fellow fireifighters to climb the 1504 steps of Sydney Tower Eye to raise money and awareness for Motor Neurone Disease (MND) research.
Wearing over 20kg of firefighting gear, Ms Sutton said she had been training intensively for the gruelling challenge.
"My training involved wearing my structural firefighting gear and my 10kg weight vest doing laps up and down the Cardiff Stairs or on the stairclimber at Anytime Fitness Green Hills or while on shift using the aerobic step," she said.
She will be one of around 600 fully suited-up firefighters running up the steps of the 98 floor Sydney Tower Eye.
So why is the senior firefighter tackling the challenge?
"Cause it is such a strenuous and challenging event, it is an excellent way to raise awareness that there is no cure for Motor Neurone Disease (MND) and we need to raise money to help researchers find that cure and save lives," Ms Sutton said.
Motor Neurone Disease (MND) is a progressive, terminal neurological disease with no known treatment or cure.
Ms Sutton has already raised $2700, smashing her original $1500 target. Since 2015 the climb has raised more than $2 million for MND research at Macquarie University.
People can donate to Ms Sutton's fundraising page by visiting fundraise.firiesclimbformnd.org.au/page/NicoleSutton.
