HAVING FUN RAISING FUNDS FOR LAM RESEARCH

Mel Hollick (R) presents LARA President, Heather Telford with over $10,000 for LAM research, watched by Kate Hollick (L) and Diane Pollard (2nd from L).

In the early hours of Saturday morning, 12 December 2009 Penola Racecourse was abuzz with people setting up stands and perparing for a big event. But it wasn't the usual crowd of racegoers. This was an eclectic mix of winery owners, shearers, musicians, farmers, artists, service clubs, donut and strawberry van vendors, and medical information booths - all getting together for a day of face painting, pony rides, auctions, lucky dips, wine tasting, sack races, apple bobbing and keg rolls. It was to be a fun-filled frivolous day for the whole family to enjoy.

There was also a more serious side to the day. The Pollards, a much loved local family, were having a run of ill health. Ginge Pollard had been in hospital in Adelaide for months recovering from bladder cancer. Now his 31 year old daughter Ros, after a prolonged chest infection, was in hospital too, after being diagnosed with a strange disease noone had ever heard of. Their local community had come to do what they could to help and find out more about this thing with a long, scary sounding name. "How do you say it?" they asked each other. Lymph-what?

This was Ros's day, her way of doing something positive. Back in August, still reeling from the devastating news of her diagnosis, she had decided she would organise an event in her hometown to raise money for LAM research. Out of hospital in Adelaide, back home in Penola, she hit the ground running. She approached the local Lions Club and gave a talk on LAM. She visited local Coonawarra wineries to enlist support. She asked Simone Kain from local design studio Hello Friday to help her design a poster. A vivacious, fun-loving woman, Ros wanted to make sure her fundraiser would be a day for families to get together and enjoy themselves. It would be a Family Fun Day.

However, just as her plans were gathering momentum, Ros wound up in hospital again, this time at The Alfred in Melbourne. Thirty percent of women with LAM produce a chylous effusion, where fluid leaks out of the lymphatic vessels and collects around the lungs. Large volumes of this protein rich fluid were accumulating in Ros's chest, crushing her lungs and making it difficult for her to breathe.

Days turned into weeks yet Ros couldn't leave hospital. Even after surgery on her right lung to stop the fluid leaking it continued to accumulate around her left lung. Friends, and friends of friends, set up organising committees to make sure her fundraiser would go ahead. WIN-TV (covering south-east South Australia, south-west Victoria and the Riverina) donated thousands of dollars of free advertising. Articles appeared in the Penola Pennant and Mount Gambier's Border Watch. More and more local businesses jumped on board, more and more people offered to help. Each day, Ros received calls and emails in hospital, keeping her in touch with new developments. All she could do was hope she would be well enough to come home in time.

The big day arrived. Over a thousand people flocked to the racecourse and the action began. Things were bought, sold, raffled and auctioned. Someone paid hundreds of dollars for tickets to the Australian Open. Kids rode ponies, spoon-raced and had their faces painted. Local musicians kept the atmosphere light. Food and wine flowed freely. Moving speeches were made. Mel Hollick from Hollicks Winery brought tears to many eyes when she presented LARA President Heather Telford with a cheque for $10,310, profits from wine sales over previous weeks (photo of presentation). All in all, over $40,000 was raised to help the Pollard family. A substantial amount of this money was donated to LARA and is now being used to help fund a research project at the Malaghan Institute in New Zealand. Ros's cyle cells were collected and sent to NZ to assist the Malaghan's research efforts. Click here to read about the Malaghan project.

Finally, after five tumultuous months, Ros was discharged from hospital on 25 March 2010. Thanks to her great courage and tenacity, the medical team at The Alfred, LAM experts in the United States and Japan, and the support of her family and friends, Ros is now back home in Penola, just enjoying life.

LARA is a small organisation run by women with LAM. We are deeply grateful to Ros and her community for helping us to help each other by raising money to fund research. Our understanding of the disease is progressing and we are confident that one day a cure will be found.