Adam Barnes is a father, a husband and holds down a steady job as a records keeper at Cootamundra-Gundagai Regional Council.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
He enjoys sport and spending time in the yard with wife Hayley and sons Bradley (almost one) and Henry (three).
On the surface he is your everyday bloke, yet Adam has multiple sclerosis (MS); he experiences headaches and extreme fatigue with doctors telling him symptoms will only get worse.
Adam and his family live with the knowledge he could wake up one day with no sight or no feeling in his arms or legs; these are all possible for those with MS.
Wanting the best for his family’s future, Adam has decided to undertake treatment in Russia.
The treatment essentially ‘re-boots’ the system through a complex procedure involving the removing, treatment and replacement of cells.
It is currently available in Australia to cancer and leukaemia patients, but not those with MS.
Adam described the treatment as his best chance of living a normal life.
He was diagnosed in 2010, just months before his wedding, with symptoms present since then.
“He needs the treatment sooner rather than later so progression can be reversed and he will not be left with any permanent ailments,” Hayley said.
To get Adam to Russia, the family must now fundraise $100,000.
They have opened a bank account specific to the purpose which people can donate directly into or individuals can hold their own fundraisers.
Already people have offered wood raffles, cake stalls and one local lady will walk from Cootamundra to Wallendbeen to raise funds.
The Barnes family is planning a number of fundraisers for next year, thinking big to hit their fundraising goal.
They will host a concert in town with a headline act (to be announced) and will raffle off a car.
They are also planning a ‘colour run’ and the sale of ‘Adam Barnes Stronger Than MS’ wrist bands.
