This March, 3 dedicated doctors from Monash Children’s Hospital will head off on a gruelling 1000km ride through the South Island of New Zealand to raise funds for new cardiorespiratory monitoring equipment to care for premature and unwell babies at the Casey Campus of MCH.
Funds raised will also go to the Starlight Foundation, who provide a range of facilities and services to help make hospital stays just that little bit easier for children and their families.
Dr Alice Stewart and Adj Clin A/Prof Rob Roseby are looking forward to their second Chain Reaction ride, with Prof Nick Freezer training hard for his first challenge.
“The Chain Reaction Challenge is just that, an enormous physical and mental challenge,” said Rob.
“During the tougher stages of the ride, thinking about what we’re working toward, and the benefit our fundraising efforts will have for so many children and their families is the best motivation we could ask for,” he said.
Of course, the 3 riders representing Monash Children’s Hospital find pockets of motivation every day when they come to work, as they treat patients and spend time with their families. They learn of their struggles beyond having an unwell child and are keen to channel funds raised during the 2023 Challenge into making their lives just that little bit easier.
“This year, we’ll be raising funds to install state-of-the-art cardiorespiratory monitoring in the Casey Special Care Nursery, equipping us for both now and the future so that more babies can receive care closer to home, and families in that catchment will not have the additional burden of long travel times to Clayton to be with their children in hospital,” said Alice.
“We know that easing that mental load in even the smallest way can make a big difference,” said Rob.
The opportunities to build long-term, meaningful relationships with the almost fifty other riders taking part in the Challenge is another aspect of the ride that our participants value so dearly.
“We normally wouldn’t have the opportunity to network with those in the finance, IT, real estate and construction sectors, so it’s fantastic to make friends with so many like-minded, dedicated people,” said Nick.
As our riders embark on their journey on the 12th of March, we wish them all the best for a safe, successful ride as they push themselves to the limit to raise funds for some of our most vulnerable patients.
Learn more about our riders and how you can support them by visiting their Chain Reaction profiles below.
Adj Clin A/Prof Robert Roseby
Dr Alice Stewart
Professor Nick Freezer
UPDATE: Our riders did an absolutely brilliant job, returning from New Zealand safely and having achieved their goal.
The team, comprised of over 50 riders across various industries including construction, finance and health raised just over$1.3 million for both MCH and the Starlight Children’s Foundation.
On behalf of the doctors, nurses and families at Monash Children’s Hospital, we would like to extend our gratitude on an incredible effort and an amazing fundraising total!
Left to right – Dr Alice Stewart, Prof Nick Freezer and Adj Clin A/Prof Rob Roseby
