ALTHOUGH they have never met, Kogarah mayor Stephen Agius and Woolooware residents Sandy and John Vogl have much in common.
They each have firsthand experience of motor neurone disease.
Cr Agius's father Charles died of the disease in 1999, and Mr Vogl is taking each day as it comes as the disease progresses to its inevitable end.
Mrs Vogl shares the home care with her three daughters who live nearby, and a son.
Cr Agius and his brothers helped their mother look after their father.
All say they could not have done it without the Motor Neurone Disease Association.
It is the only registered, charitable, not-for-profit organisation in NSW providing support for people diagnosed with the disease, their families and carers.
The assocation is the named charity for the Kogarah Mayoral Ball on Saturday.
Motor neurone disease (MND) is the name given to a group of conditions in which the nerve cells controlling the muscles that enable movement, speech, breathing and swallowing degenerate and die.
It is a progressive, terminal neurological disease and there is no known cure or treatment.
Mr Vogl, 77, has been living with the disease for three years. It began with leg cramps, then weakness in his right foot.
The South African-born industrial chemist has lost the use of both legs, back and stomach muscles, and is starting to have difficulty using his hands.
He has a positive attitude to his condition. "You can make peace with it or be miserable if you want to be."
The family is united in giving him the best quality of life possible.
"I was devastated for the first three months because he had been so fit but you do adapt and we truly live every day," Mrs Vogl said.
"We are determined to keep him at home and make the most of what we have left."
Kogarah Mayoral Ball will be on Saturday at the Museum of Contemporary Art, west Circular Quay. Tickets, donations: Bridget Keating: 9330 9424
