Brayden’s Fight Against MALS Bush Dance fundraiser on Saturday, August 25, raised an above expected $45,000 for Brayden Neate, 16, to help fund the local boy’s urgently needed trip to the United States for surgery so he can eat and be pain free again.

Brayden has a condition called MALS (median arcuate ligament syndrome), which is not widely recognised, hence having to go to America to a doctor who has a 92 per cent success rate with surgery to help these patients.

In order to get Brayden there, $150,000 needs to be raised.

This fundraiser was three months in the making and everything went off without a hitch.

Organisers loved seeing everyone get into the spirit of the night, all arriving in their shirts, boots and hats.

“We had roughly 253 adults and loads of kids,” the organising committee said.

“Everyone had a chance to dance up a storm to the band of the night, In The Mix, they did an amazing job.

“On the night we had a raffle with 10 prizes, 100 balloon pops and about 40 auction items.”

Pam and Nakita Dyer and Cassie Taylor thanked all involved in making this night such a success.

“Rebecca Neate (Brayden’s mum) for being at our beck and call while organizing this, she is one amazing super mum who is very thankful for everyone’s help,” they said.

“Kylie Smith and Dennis Hall who were our auctioneers for the night, Patties for your supper donation, Dennison’s Foods for supper donation, family and friends who all brought a plate or two, Jay from Jay’s Delicious Sensations who pulled off yet another amazing cake which matched our theme perfectly, Bairnsdale Bearings and Elgas for all being our major sponsors, Primal for going above and beyond in supporting our cause, Kennedy’s Trailers, Margie Griffiths for being our emcee for the night, Cranes Asphalting who donated the use of the Lucknow Hall, Office Choice for our flyers and tickets, Matt Rowland for his continuous advice, all the businesses and people who donated money and items, our family and friends who all chipped in to help and lastly to all the members of our amazing community who came and shared this great night with us.

“We were so lucky to have so many people on board.”

Pam, Nakita and Cassie are proud to announce that the amount of money raised was far beyond expectations of $20,000, reaching a huge $45,000.

“ We are blown away with how successful it all was,” they said.

“Although we raised so much money and it is a fantastic start, there is still a long way to go to make Brayden’s operation happen.

“We have a Facebook page ‘Brayden’s Fight Against MALS’ where you can follow our story right to the end and we have a fundraising account which is still open for donations.

“We need to share the page and raise awareness of this rare condition as once we have Brayden better we will be going above and beyond to get Australia to recognise MALS and then help the other people who are suffering, like Brayden, to get the help they need without having to go to America.”

PICTURED: Brayden’s Fight Against MALS Bush Dance fundraiser organisers Nakita Dyer, Cassie Taylor, Rebecca Neate and Pam Dyer helped raise $45,000 for Brayden Neate (front) who is suffering from median arcuate ligament syndrome.