Catherine Jayasuria at the peak of Mount Kinabalu during the inaugural climb last year to raise awareness of Duchenne Muscle Dystrophy.

KOTA KINABALU: A WOMAN who climbed Mount Kinabalu last year to raise awareness of a disease known as Duchenne will be back with a bigger team this year.

This year, the Coalition Duchenne expedition will see US-based Malaysian Catherine Jayasuria leading 60 international climbers to the 4,095m peak on Aug 25.

Last year, there were 35 climbers in the team.

Duchenne muscular dystrophy is a progressive muscle-wasting disease and those who have it often do not live beyond their 20s. Experts estimate at least 20,000 boys are born with the disease each year.

Jayasuria's 19-year-old son, Dusty Brandon, has Duchenne and it was for that reason she returned to her roots here to climb Mount Kinabalu as it was a symbol of stability, strength and hope.

At the summit, the team will again raise the Coalition Duchenne flag in honour of the hundreds of thousands of boys and young men worldwide who have Duchenne.

"Duchenne is a difficult road, and presents significant challenges along the way. Duchenne steals many things, the ability to walk, hug, move, talk and breathe, but there is that something inside of you, that it can never get to, that it can never take -- hope."

Coalition Duchenne also helped raise funds for research to treat the disease.

In March, the non-profit organisation announced the funding of a RM75,000 research agreement with a Michigan-based biotechnical company.

View original post here:
60 climbers to help raise funds

Comments are closed.