Monday, Dec 05, 2011 at 18:12
Hi Everyone :) Sharyn here.. I am one of the walkers involved in the big
Canning Stock Route adventure next year! To clear a few little things up - there will be 5 of us at this stage (possibly 4 - to be confirmed) and one of us (me) is hearing and vision impaired with Seeing Eye
Dog Versace who will be joining us :) I'm not sure whether text length is limited here so I'm hoping the following is all there.. it is just an initial blurb on how this all started and whats happening and the big question everyone is asking *WHY*!? Cheers!!
Defying Adversity Desert Trek
Two months walking a 2000klm long, harsh desert track – would you do it? Could you? Imagine having little hearing and sight and ask yourself those questions again. It’s exactly what Sharyn
Mitchell and her Seeing Eye
Dog Versace will be doing in August and September of 2012.
Sharyn has Usher Syndrome, a degenerative condition that affects her hearing and sight but she’s not letting that get in the way of following her lifelong friend and soon to be sister in law’s long time dream. Pam Armstrong, aka ‘Cyclone Pammy’, has dreamt for years of walking the entire
Canning Stock Route. Pam lived in the
Pilbara of WA for many years and has trekked the desert dunes for leisure before but nothing as huge as this massive undertaking.
Trekking alongside Sharyn (47) and Versace will be Pam (47), Pam’s daughter Merinda (19), Sharyn’s sister Lauren (43) and Pams good friend Anna (47) . Sharyn’s Seeing Eye
Dog Versace will be the first service
dog to walk the
Canning Stock Route. Seeing Eye Dogs Australia’s (SEDA) Senior Trainer commented that Versace and all Seeing Eye Dogs are exceptionally fit and healthy and that Versace would do
well. He is incredibly loyal and so closely bonded with Sharyn that he would follow her to the ends of the earth.
Why do such a long and potentially dangerous trek I hear you ask?? Good question! Apart from the sheer challenge and consequent satisfaction of conquering such a large feat, these ladies want to raise awareness about Usher Syndrome. This cruel condition advances quite slowly with most types of Usher Syndrome, which is a genetic defect that is a combination of congenital Sensorineural hearing loss and the gradual onset in late teens of Retinitis Pigmentosa (RP). RP is the leading cause of blindness in the world and Sharyn now has less than ‘five degrees’ of vision left which is akin to looking through a tiny hole. Because it’s degenerative, it’s worsening with time and Sharyn will more than likely be fully blind at some stage in the near future. Luckily, at the age of 40 Sharyn was the recipient of her first Cochlear implant, then her second a few years later. She says they have made a huge difference in her life and thanks God for technology, as she had lost basically all of her hearing before receiving them. “As you can imagine, regaining some hearing back was such a big help considering my worsening vision”, Sharyn says.
All five ladies and Versace are starting to train, getting as fit as they can before the walk along with planning and organising essential aspects to ensure the walk’s success. They have a support person; Herb Roe, who will drive Pam’s troopy, in front within radio distance in case of an emergency. He will carry the extra water that the ladies will need replenished every 4 days or so as their trekking trailers have a limited capacity of 40kgs.The success of this expedition includes gaining vital sponsorship and funds for equipment and fuel etc.
All funds raised over and above what’s needed for the trek will go straight to the Usher Syndrome Support Group run by the Senses Foundation WA. Senses is a not for profit organisation that caters for people with Usher Syndrome and acquired deaf/blindness.
Want to help? More info coming very soon!!
AnswerID:
471747
Follow Up By: Member - Pam A - Thursday, Dec 15, 2011 at 23:48
Thursday, Dec 15, 2011 at 23:48
Hi from that 'fasinating' woman Pam... thanks Michelle! :-) for those who already know me this whole trek idea may not come as a supprise...I've been dreaming up ways to make it a reality for a long time and now its actually at the point of no return! Yay! I've spent many hours researching and reading info from kilojoule control, amount of energy burned when one treks and what type of tires we need for 12000ks of dunes. I've decided psychologically better for us to count down the wells as we pass by them so we know we only have so many to go also it will be easier at the finish line to jump in the troopy and get back to
Perth quicker from
Wiluna end :-)
Therefore we officially start the walk in the last week of July from the
top end Billiuna and have a single support vehicle with one driver, my old mate Herbie who could think of no better way to do the
CSR than to keep slightly in front of us during the entire distance...one reason for this is so that versace can rest from time to time...we girls will keep walking unless one of us keels over and needs picking up and the other reason is he can let any on coming vehicles heading north know we are not too far away to avoid any unwanted collisions etc...
We are currently having my idea of a walking trailer made by another wonderful fella who just loves a challenge. We'll meet in
Perth for a test run of all of our gear in March and then its training seriously for a few months till the walk starts...we have all planned to put the rest of our life on hold while we do this walk and although we're leaving our loved ones behind for a couple of months our ultimate goal is to raise awareness and funds for the 'ushers group' and those who struggle everyday with adversity that we often take for granted or completely ignore. Its one thing to come up with a big idea but its a totally different thing to sit back after its over and say "we did it"!!! Thankyou everyone for your positive feedaback and for keeping posted...good on the older crew who insist that age is only on the outside...you give me hope and inspiration always
FollowupID:
747468