BendigoWeekly www.bendigoweekly.com.au
ISSUE 727 FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 2, 2011
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Gibbons calls it a day Page 3 ■ Bendigo ‘insulated’ from GFC Page 5 ■ Road battle Page 7
Tangled in fun
Page 18
Bendigo Ahead The science of teaching Page 9
b.entertained Spin doctors of the club scene Page 22
FAMILY SUPPORT: Megan Anderson with parents Jacquie and Michael.
INSPIRATION Photo: BEN CAMERON
By BEN CAMERON
CUTTING a few laps is an everyday outlet for most teenagers with a driver’s licence. But for inspirational 15-year-old Megan Anderson, she’ll be doing 500 laps on a bike, to raise money and awareness for adolescent mental health. While many in Bendigo would baulk at the idea of riding to work even once a week, Megan will cycle 206 kilometres in one day, at the Tom Flood Velodrome on Friday, Oc-
Ride sheds light on mental health
tober 14, with funds raised going to St Luke’s youth mental health camps and Federal Government health initiative headspace. “It should take about eight hours,” Megan said with a wry grin, all too aware of the hard work ahead. But a few hundred laps of the velodrome will be nothing compared to the mental hurdles the Ben-
digo South East College student has scaled in the past 12 months. Megan’s troubles began a few years ago when she began fainting. Thinking it was hereditary, the family weren’t too concerned until early last year, when she began fainting up to 10 times a week. Turns out Megan suffered from psychogenic seizures; a condition
where mental stress can manifest into physical difficulties. “It comes from the stress of school and school work,” she said of the conversionary illness. At its worst, the family estimated she had more than 80 episodes in third term last year; most of them happening at school, which came with large physical and social impli-
cations. But along with a solid network of support from family and friends, integral to her recovery has been the bike, and today, she suffers just one seizure in a normal week, depending on how she’s feeling. In preparation for the October ride, Megan took another impressive step forward recently, when she spoke to nearly 200 Year 9 students about her recent battles, and the importance of resilience. Continued Page 2
EDITORIAL Page 13
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