Louise Blockley 
Dr Grace Chen from the Centre for Public Health Research is doing research into concussion and neurodegenerative diseases, including motor neurone disease (MND). She is looking for family members of people who are living with, or who have died with MND to attend a focus group to be arranged at a suitable time in late … Read more
Kate Andrews has swapped her farming gumboots for a pair of jandals with her family’s recent move from the wild West Coast of the South Island to Papamoa in the beautiful Bay of Plenty. While there are no regrets about leaving behind the early starts of a dairy farming life for the sun, surf and … Read more
“My dad is my hero,” says Annabelle Rice (pictured above) blinking back tears as she describes the man she so admires. Annabelle’s hero is Senior Constable Patrick “Tony” Rice whose life has changed dramatically since he was diagnosed with motor neurone disease (MND) in October 2023. Unlike most dad-heroes, Tony (64) has received official recognition … Read more
While Tamsin Gallie is excited to blend her love of the lower South Island with her love of helping people to advocate for themselves in her new MND NZ Support Advisor role, she cautions her clients not to ask her for gardening advice! “Unlike the rest of the MND NZ Support Team I am not … Read more
Adventure has always been at the heart of Al Rynn’s life. In 2024, the 60-year-old set out to cycle more than 4,000km from Banff, Canada, to Antelope Wells on the US–Mexico border via the iconic Tour Divide bikepacking route. After covering 3,000km in 24 days, a persistent cough eventually forced him to abandon the ride, … Read more
We congratulate University of Queensland (UQ) researchers and their international partners on the development of R8Y, a drug that could lead to clinical trials of a potential anti-inflammatory treatment for motor neurone disease (MND) in the next five years. While promising research advances like this continue to emerge in Aotearoa and around the globe, there … Read more
As part of Motor Neurone Disease NZ’s (MND NZ) commitment to connecting the MND community with global researchers you are invited to a live webinar by the world-renowned Neurologist Dr Richard Bedlack from Duke Health and Duke University School of Medicine in North Carolina, USA. 📅Thursday 30 July 🕛12pm – 1pm NZST 👉🏼Register now: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_Vq1e2Hb1Ty-pHkFSYq-6cg#/registration … Read more
Sunday 21 June is Global MND/ALS Awareness Day. It’s a day that falls on the solstice for a reason. When the global community pauses and speaks with one voice to raise the visibility of this disease that demands urgent action. Here in Aotearoa, we remember and honour the 139 MND NZ clients who have died … Read more
Trevor Bailey is braving his second ice-cold plunge into Lake Wānaka as a fundraiser for 2026 MND Action Month. The daring dive off the Wānaka wharf is planned for 10 am on Global ALS/MND Awareness Day and New Zealand’s winter solstice, Sunday 21 June. It’s Trevor’s version of the popular Ice Bucket Challenge undertaken by … Read more
Behind a lime-green door, musicians Chris Kemp and Kendall Todd are choosing creativity, connection and purpose – even as motor neurone disease (MND) changes everything. Chris Kemp (55) and Kendall Todd’s (38) lime-green front door feels like a Narnia-esque portal into a magical musicians’ haven. Inside, a Ramones’ vinyl-record creates a rock’n’roll kitchen rangehood. A … Read more
In July 2025, the hills of Karaka came alive with the clink of cups raised for a ‘Cuppa Tea for MND’, the squeals of an MND Ice Bucket Challenge, the calls of a bingo master, the quiet plink of teardrops…
For many people, motor neurone disease (MND) begins in confusion. Early symptoms are often missed or misunderstood, sending people on a frustrating circuit of appointments, tests and misdiagnoses. For Judith Jones (81), it was eight years from her first symptoms to her recent diagnosis, and she is shocked by the lack of awareness of the … Read more