Pepper Gull, a 10-year-old Noosa resident, recently competed in her first 5km race at the Runaway Noosa event held on Saturday 27 May and raised a whopping $3490 for an official charity, Oesophageal Atresia Research Association (OARA).
Pepper set herself a goal to run the 5km race and raise funds for further research for her medical condition called Tracheo Oesophageal Fistula / Osephageal Atresia (TOF/OA).
Her goal was to raise $2000 but more than exceeded this and finished up with a total of $3490 in donations.
“I’m sure you’re thinking what do all these words mean,“ Pepper’s mum Paula Kennett said.
“Well…. Oesophageal Atresia (OA) is a congenital obstruction in the oesophagus in newborn babies. Basically, the oesophagus ends in a blind upper pouch and is not connected to the stomach.
“Most babies born with OA also have Tracheo-Oseophageal Fistula (TOF). TOF is where a section of the baby’s windpipe is abnormally connected by a small tube to the oesophagus.
“The only way to repair the TOF/OA is with surgery. Within 24 hours of Pepper being born she was in surgery for four to five hours having her oesophagus repaired. Her medical condition is not something that is healed for life from the initial surgery.
“Pepper has had numerous procedures to ensure she is able to eat well for the duration of her life. We’re up to about 20 procedures now.“
Paula said the condition affected about one in every 3500 children around the world.
Research is continuing into the cause of TOF/OA and at this stage the cause is still not known.
