- Sergeant Dennis Simpson opened our 9 th meeting of the Rotary year reiterating that August is Membership Month; however, he also asked members/guests to reflect on the atrocities that occurred in Victoria today – i.e. the death of two police officers and the injury of another while carrying out their duties in Porepunkah.
- President Phil Peckman extended a special ‘welcome back’ to Barry Stevens, who is now doing well, after a period of infirmity. Phil also warmly welcomed our guests, Graham & Catherine Lancaster.
- Mal Bracken reflected on the history of women in Rotary and how in 1987 Dr Sylvia Whitlock et al from the Rotary Club of Duarte took on Rotary International in the United States Supreme Court to allow women into Rotary... and won! After the ruling, Rotary International ended their policy of gender restrictions. Mal, who joined Rotary in 1984, spoke of his experiences in various clubs and the general attitude of some members to the change – Clearly a definite change for the improvement of Rotary!
- After reminiscing of his visit to the Rotary Club of Port Vila many years ago during a club ‘make-up’, Mal focussed his international toast to that club. Mal mentioned that one of the club’s major projects was the supply of water tanks to indigenous villages; however, the recent earthquake in Vanuatu and surrounding areas destroyed many of the water tanks previously supplied.
- Dennis outlined the level of charitable funds generated by the Charles Hotel Joker Draw, which remains unclaimed with only seven cards remaining, as well as the Friday night meat raffles.
- Phil said last Monday’s Kembla Grange BBQ was well supported with most supplies sold out by 3pm... A great effort by all who participated.
“The Life of a Smart Archangel” – Graham Lancaster AM"
Di Reid formally introduced our guest speaker, Graham Lancaster AM, whom she has known for many years through various affiliations. Graham is also well known to many of our members as a past speaker in his role as a distinguished lawyer and also through other external avenues. The title of Graham’s presentation, however, was a mystery to us all... more on that point later!
The focus of Graham’s presentation was about his motor neurone disease (MND) diagnosis, specifically the ALS (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis) variant, along with his treatment regimens and coping mechanisms.
As a precursor, Graham mentioned a few brief details about himself including his family immigrating to Australia when he was four years of age, his role as a solicitor and mediator, his Life Membership of the Association of APEX Clubs and his appointment as a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) in 2022 for his significant service to the law and to the Illawarra region. While not specifically mentioned, Graham was admitted as a Fellow of the University of Wollongong in July 2025.
From mid-2023 through to 2024, Graham noticed his hand grip weakening and his ability to do up his cuff and collar buttons diminished. Initial thoughts suggested stenosis or a trapped nerve, and he was referred to a neurologist by a friend.
Graham took up acupuncture treatment with some benefit, but requested his GP refer him to a neurologist for a nerve conduction study. However, this is where Graham realised the difficulty in accessing essential medical care promptly. He tried a local specialist only to be told there was a three month wait list.
Nevertheless, Graham persevered, and he subsequently managed to see two Sydney-based specialists within two days of each other. After numerous tests (including a nerve conduction study) and MRIs of the brain and clavicle areas, he was initially relieved to learn his problem was not Multiple Sclerosis (MS) or a trapped nerve. Unfortunately, both neurologists confirmed the diagnosis was MND (ALS).
Graham openly stated that fear does nothing for you and his strong interest in professional basketball and poetry helped him through some of his darker times.
Always focussing on the positive side of life, Graham mentioned Professor Justin Yerbury survived MND for eight years, Professor Stephen Hawkins lived with MND for 55 years and Neale Danaher was diagnosed in 2013, some 12 years ago, and he’s still alive. So, despite an average life expectancy of 2 to 5 years from MND (ALS) diagnosis, Graham is confident he will do better than the averages suggest.
And, he’s not taking a back seat in terms of acquiring knowledge and potential treatments. Unlike 20-30 years ago, there is now a plethora of information available via the Internet as well advice from his medical team. The key is to be able to decipher what is valuable information from substandard material.
In summary, Graham’s approach to his MND (ALS) diagnosis is DEFIANCE! He won’t accept it and he’ll continue to research and try any positive avenues that will help him. There is literally a world of knowledge amongst medical professionals and peers that can and should be shared. Graham is on a multitude of supplements to help him on his journey to cut back on some of his traditional prescribed medications. He tracks his disease progression via an NFL medical test, which is a neurofilament light chain (NFL) blood test, and fortunately so far it appears Graham’s results suggest his disease is progressing quite slowly.
Graham also uses Red Light Therapy (RLT) to stimulate cellular activity (amongst other benefits) and he regularly peruses YouTube/Internet for information about his disease and possible treatments. As alluded to earlier, the tricky bit is filtered the information correctly. Needless to say, Graham clearly demonstrates a positive and proactive attitude and, as far as ‘death’ is concerned, Graham says he simply laughs in its face!
Michael Crowley extended a vote of thanks to Graham and acknowledged the need for patients of any condition to do their own research, ask questions of all members of their medical team, gain support from family, close friends and peer groups... they all help along with maintaining that positive attitude and, as any person suffering an affliction, you need a ‘rabbit to chase’.
PS. ‘The Life of a Smart Archangel’ is an anagram of Graham Lancaster
- President Phil made a few brief comments prior to concluding the meeting:
- A table of our Club’s members has been put together at the Rotary Club of Corrimal’s Trivia Night this coming Saturday evening;
- More people are still needed to fill our minimum numbers for the Combined Rotary Clubs of the Illawarra Race Day and it would help if members could please donate a bottle of wine or two to fill the bar fridge that will be raffled on the day. Simply bring any wine donations to next week’s meeting;
- The Race Day committee would also gladly accept any silent auction prizes for the day; and
- Our District Grant applications have been dispatched.
- Raffle winners this week were Michael Crowley, who donated his bottle to Graham Lancaster – who in turn donated the wine to the Combined Rotary Clubs of the Illawarra Race Day bar fridge,
- and Kerrie Hayes-Williams, who also donated her bottle to the same cause.
