A Long Jetty man and his two siblings walked, ran and cycled 2,742.8 kilometres during November – the equivalent of going from Sydney to Far North Queensland – to honour their father’s legacy.
Steve Siegel of Long Jetty joined his sisters Emily and Sarah to create the group William Siegel’s Bitumen Bashers as part of Stroke Foundation’s annual fundraiser, Stride4Stroke.
The target of 2,742.8 kilometres signifies the 27,428 Australians who experience a stroke for the first time, every year.
It is a cause close to the siblings’ hearts after their father William had two strokes within months of each other at the age of 62.
They left him unable to move the left side of his body.
“When Dad had a stroke it changed everything; it was hard to watch him go through what he went through,” Siegel said.
In August, 2021, William passed away but his memory lives on with the Bitumen Bashers.
“It started as a footy off-season exercising idea and it just blew up,” Siegel said.
“A lot of my friends and family wanted to get involved because Dad was close to them too.
“I reckon Dad would be pretty proud of what we’re doing and the awareness that we’ve raised.”
Steve, his sisters and the Bitumen Bashers team have already raised almost $11,000 dollars for the Stroke Foundation but say their main aim is to increase stroke awareness.
“We didn’t know anything about stroke so along with raising money we want to encourage people to educate themselves on the signs of stroke so they can act quickly and not waste any time in calling ambulance,” Siegel said.
Stroke Foundation Executive Director Marketing, John De Rango, commended the team for its support.
“Team Bitumen Bashers is setting a great example to its community by not only promoting prevention by getting people outside and active, but also spreading the importance of learning the stroke signs which we know saves lives,” he said.
“There is an easy way for everyone to learn the common signs of stroke and that’s by remembering the F.A.S.T acronym.
“F is for face – check their face, has their mouth dropped? A is for arms – can they lift both arms? S is for speech – is their speech slurred, can they understand you? And T is for time – time is critical, If you see any of these signs call triple zero (000) straight away.”
Stride4Stroke ran throughout November but the fundraising continues until December 31.
More information can be found at https://www.stride4stroke.org.au/fundraisers/williamsiegelsbitumenbashers/stride-4-stroke.
Terry Collins