All of us at The Watercraft Journal never hesitate to help promote a worthwhile cause, particularly when it’s to help fight a horrible disease like Cystic fibrosis; the hereditary chronic disease that clogs the lungs and leads to life-threatening lung infections; and obstructs the pancreas and stops natural enzymes from helping the body break down and absorb food. The disease specifically affects about 2,500 Australians and 70,000 people worldwide, and for this reason, Alex Strachan – with the help from a support crew – rode from Australia’s Cronulla to Port Macquarie to help raise awareness of the benefits that Kalydeco can provide to sufferers of CF.
According to the official Kalydeco webpage, the drug is a “prescription medicine used for the treatment of cystic fibrosis (CF) in patients age 6 years and older” previously was exorbitantly expensive – upwards to $300,000 per patient. As part of the effort to help lower costs and make the drug more widely available, Strachan – the son of local radio personality Mark Strachan – embarked on a epic ride to help draw attention to the campaign. Strachan’s partner Bec Roberts, has a cousin who has been diagnosed with the condition, which brought the condition to his attention.
Surprisingly enough, there was a logical connection between Cystic fibrosis and jet skiing. According to the official Ride of Kalydeco page, “In recent years, doctors here in Australia found that cystic fibrosis patients who surfed had healthier lungs than non-surfing CF patients. To find out why, the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation conducted a series of studies.
“They found that the inhalation of a sterile saltwater mist helps clear the thick, sticky mucus from the lungs and therefore a beneficial therapy to CF patient. As a result of this discovery, hypertonic saline was developed to mimic a “surf session” for CF patients. Now CF patients worldwide are benefiting from hypertonic saline, a drug developed in partnership with the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.”
Although the ride effort raised over $8,000, it was well short of the original $25,000 goal. Donations are still happily accepted HERE.
