In loving memory of Barry Lowe
$2,387 of $250 raised
Late 2022, CJD took the life of father of four, Barry Lowe. A mate to all, a cherishing sibling, a bright man, my dad.
And he was the most ‘dad-like’ dad you could possibly imagine- the board shorts and thongs wearing, BBQ tongs in hand, big toothy smile kind of dad. Barry had the kind of life he’d tell everyone about around a campfire, the kind that makes you think-HOW did he do it? He was the person I’d try match my step with when we walked together, who’s passions I wanted to hear all about, who we could ask all our life’s questions. Dad was, truly himself, walking the walk of life with gratitude, love and endless jokes
However, in early July 2022, it was obvious that Barry wasn’t like himself, beginning to struggle with symptoms (of what we were yet to find out was CJD) of memory loss, change in behaviour, paranoia, confusion. The uncertainty concerned him as they occurred more frequently, and the disease progressed rapidly throughout the next month. From here it continued to develop and by August, he was having tests done daily in hospital.
The first I’d ever heard about CJD was when I was told of his diagnosis, on the 16th of September 2022. Two days later, he passed away. Now we remember his life like our own memories, the campfire is quiet, and his big toothy smile is frozen in picture frames.
In the future, I’d like to think that with enough awareness and research, the conversation in the diagnosis of CJD, ends in “but they’ll be okay” and not “say your goodbyes”.
So, in efforts to even just spark conversation or raise a couple dollars, I have organised a school awareness day on the 12th of October, and a donation link open until the national awareness day.
From the 12th of October to the 12th of November, this link will be open and available to anyone who wishes to help raise funds for research into CJD, any contribution big or small means a great deal to the cause.
The CJDSGN guarantees that every cent received will go directly to support the CJD Research Teams in Australia, improvements in diagnostic tools or the work of the CJDSGN in supporting families affected by CJD.
The CJDSGN is a registered charity and will provide you with a tax deductible receipt. We use PayPal’s secure checkout to process our donations. *Please allow or select to return to the CJDSGN website from Paypal to ensure your donation is processed.*
