Nundle man launches #StandUpDrew campaign in fight against MD

Drew Schofield grew up in Nundle, but it wasn’t until he began boarding at The Armidale School that he was diagnosed with Muscular Dystrophy (MD) at the age of 12. A keen sportsmen, he was lucky enough to have a normal childhood despite the diagnosis, but the disease – which causes progressive weakness and wasting of muscles – is degenerative, and it only gets worse.

Mr Schofield, now 37, had been living and working in Sydney as a real estate agent for 20 years when the disease took its toll. He fell over and broke a bone in his back about six months ago. 

“I’ve fallen over 1000 times before and I’ve just got up and dusted myself off, but this time it wasn’t the case,” he said.

He spent weeks in hospital and moved home to Nundle when he was discharged about a month later. It was during this time, down that he could no longer walk, that he hired a personal trainer and vowed to do all he could to help himself and others with MD.

Though Mr Schofield can now walk with the help of a stick and sometimes needs a wheelchair, he’ll soon be unable to work.

Hopeful of a cure, he raised $250,000 for research through the Stand Tall for a Cure Ball in 2010. But with no hope in sight, he launched the #StandUpDrew campaign.

The campaign, aiming to fundraise $30,000 to be part of a 21-day stem cell program overseas, could help more than 20,000 Australians and many more worldwide living with MD.

“I feel I’m in a position where I’ve got nothing to lose,” he said.

“I can sit in a corner and know what my outcome is sitting in a wheelchair or I can try this. My simple goal is to go for a run with my mates. It’s the one thing I haven’t been able to do.”

A #StandUpDrew fundraiser will be held at the Peel Inn Hotel on March 11. To donate to the cause, visit www.gofundme.com/stand-up-drew-stem-cell-trial