McGuinness McDermott Foundation Online The McGuinness McDermott Foundation was first established in 1996 by former Adelaide Crow players Tony McGuinness and Chris McDermott. During their time with the Crows, they got to know two young boys, Nathan Maclean and Nicholas Berry. Chris met Nathan, who had been diagnosed with a rare brain tumour. The two became friends and this was a friendship which would endure until Nathan passed away in 1993. Tony met Nicholas, who was battling Kidney Cancer. Tony and Nic hit it off straight away and they keenly followed each others progress for the next 2 ½ years which was the duration of Nic’s treatment. Medical science ran out of answers for Nic in 1994 when he left us. Tony and Chris were so touched by the boys lives, brave struggles and deaths, that they felt compelled to do something constructive. So the Foundation was launched in memory of Nic and Nathan with a view to improving all areas of Oncology treatment facilities for children in South Australia. Since its formation, the McGuinness McDermott Foundation has proudly completed several major projects, and has raised over 3.8 million dollars in the past 8 years. The most recent major successful project being the installation of the MRI Machine in March 2003 at a total cost of over 2 million dollars, with the Foundation contributing $1m to the project and the remaining funds being supplied by State and Federal Governments and the Women’s & Children’s Hospital. The Foundation’s amazing story continues with their current project for 2004 being to establish a $1.3 million Endoscopic Theatre Suite specialising in keyhole surgery, making it the only one of it’s kind in Australasia. Last Updated: January 5, 2005 |
