The family of an inspiring doctor, wife and mother who waged a brave 10-year battle with Parkinson’s disease has started a fundraising campaign in her memory.
Christine Lambooy, of Buderim, passed away last month aged 68. Now her family – husband Sebastiaan, also a local doctor, and children Sebastiaan, Anneliese, Maddy and Tilly – has started a GoFundMe campaign hoping to raise $38,000, which is $1000 for every Australian that is diagnosed with Parkinson’s every day.
The family is also planning to run the Sunshine Coast Half Marathon in August in Christine’s honour.
Anneliese paid tribute to her mother and said she had inspired all those around her.
“Mum was an entirely selfless, compassionate, driven woman,” she said. “She was very proud of being a doctor and mother.
“She was very bright, studying medicine at the University of Sydney and topping NSW for science in Year 12.
“No matter what our passion was (or how silly it was), she was always our biggest advocates, supporting us 100 per cent.”
She said her mother had touched many through her work in healthcare.
“Mum was a haematology doctor at Nambour Hospital for about 10 years and worked with blood-related disorders, some of which were cancer-like conditions,” she said.
“She supported patients through their treatments for these conditions. She had a very personal touch with a very caring approach. People felt cared for. And she was a perfectionist and wouldn’t stop until all the work was done.
“Even when the disease forced her to stop working she was keenly interested in medicine.
“She was a fighter with a lion’s heart; she never stopped looking at ways to improve her life until the very end.
“That’s why we chose Shake It Up. Through research we can bring an end to this awful disease.”
Shake It Up Australia, in partnership with the Michael J. Fox Foundation, is the largest non-government funder of Parkinson’s research across multiple institutes in Australia. Since 2011 it has funded 63 research projects at 19 institutes to the value of $22 million.
The GoFundMe campaign page explains why the family has decided to embark on the half-marathon later this year.
“Parkinson’s robbed you of so much over the past 10 years … It started with tremors and slowly took away so many simple pleasures like walking, driving, gardening, travelling and swimming. In the end, it took away your ability to even speak/communicate or move,” it says.
“Movement is something that was taken from mum … and something most of us take for granted on a daily basis. To celebrate our ability to move, we (the Lambooy family) will be participating in the Sunshine Coast Half Marathon on August 13.
“We encourage everyone and anyone to join us in raising funds for finding a cure for Parkinson’s and continue the hope mum so tightly held onto. Please use #KmsforChris.
“Parkinson’s disease does not discriminate. It affects not only the patient but also those around them very profoundly. I would not wish Parkinson’s upon anyone.
“Mum fought this disease with everything she had while she was alive, and we are going to continue this fight for her now.”
Anneliese says the half-marathon will be a family affair.
“We are all training for the half marathon, even dad!” she said. “We all hope to complete it as a family, besides my sister who is pregnant with the first grandchild of the family.”
To donate to the GoFundMe campaign click here.
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