A FATHER is riding his bike from Sydney to Brisbane to raise funds for his son’s rare illness, Phelan-McDermid Syndrome.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Oliver Elsworth’s six-year-old son was diagnosed with the disease, a deletion of chromosome 22 that results in developmental delays.
“There are definitely physical and mental delays, my boy Ted, when he was two-years-old we were told it was unlikely he would ever sit up or walk,” Mr Elsworth said.
“Fortunately Ted has proved them wrong and he can do a lot of things we were told he wouldn’t be able to do – but a lot of children do end up wheelchair bound.
“It’s very rare, there are only 72 cases in the whole of Australia and about 1200 worldwide.”
Mr Elsworth is joined on the ride by five friends, Andy Morrison, Pat McMahon, Phil Randerson and James Chesterman.
They are aiming to raise $15000 to support Australian families to meet with the specialist who found the disorder.
The riders stopped in Armidale on Tuesday before heading to Tenterfield.