Australind teen raising awareness of NF disorder

At 13 years old, Maddy Browning has overcome more challenges than most people her age could imagine, and all with her signature bright smile on her face.

Maddy lives with neurofibromatosis — a genetic disorder that affects one in 2500 adults and children in Australia, and causes tumours to grow on nerves in the brain and throughout the body.

She has found not many people have heard about NF and wants to help spread awareness.

“It would make it a lot easier and less stressful if all healthcare workers and teachers and the community knew more about NF and how it can affect kids,” she said.

“I think people need to be more understanding of kids who have genetic disorders or illnesses, and it is important to treat everyone based on their individual abilities and circumstances.

“NF kids might have spots or bumps and miss school for appointments.

We might not be the smartest or the best at sport, but otherwise we are just normal kids whose family have a lot of stress going on in the background just to keep things normal.

Maddy encouraged people to get involved in Cupid’s Undie Run, the Children’s Tumour Foundation’s annual fundraiser for NF.

This year’s event has adapted to the COVID-19 pandemic and instead of thousands meeting up to run in their undies, participants will take part in a fortnight of challenges starting on Sunday.