Bill’s kayak odyssey to stub out smoking stigma after lung transplant

A Redland grandfather, who stared death in the face, is padding one of the country’s longest rivers on a canoe crusade to ignite funding for research into a fatal disease which forced him to have a double lung transplant.

Double lung transplant recipient Bill Van Nierop is on a kayak odyssey on the Murrumbidgee River in an effort to conquer stigma about smoking and lung disease.

A Redland grandfather who stared death in the face is paddling a wave of awareness about lung disease and has launched a canoe crusade to raise money for medical research.

Bill Van Nierop, a 70-year-old double lung transplant recipient, is set to kayak an astounding 1400km down the Murrumbidgee River.

With a fresh pair of lungs and an even fiercer ambition, Mr Van Nierop accompanied by his wife Lesley who will paddle her own canoe, plans to ignite research funding and shatter stereotypes about lung disease only being caused by smoking.

This will be his third major endeavour since his life-threatening diagnosis and is part of his campaign to throw a spotlight on Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis, a progressive lung condition with no known cause or cure, which he was diagnosed with in 2015.

“I was given somewhere between two to five years to live and even though I changed specialists it did not change the outcome unless I could get a transplant,” Mr Van Nierop said.

“The community’s attitude is I should put up with it because it was my fault so I should get over it.

“People think it is a smokers’ disease but Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis is almost never caused by smoking.

“I made it my mission to do something about turning the attitude around.”

Bill Van Nierop gets in some strokes at Point O’Halloran before launching his next funding-raising adventure for lung research. Pictures: Markus Ravik

Refusing to succumb to the odds, Ms Van Nierop fought to maintain a healthy lifestyle to secure eligibility for a double lung transplant, which he received in 2021.

But before that, he fought a long battle with public perception and the lack of medical information about his disease.

In 2016, he walked the Sydney City to Surf and raised $16,000 in his first fundraising event getting sponsorship from companies he worked for including Crop Care, NuFarm and AGnVET.

His initial target of $500 was quickly increased to $1000, then $5000 before it ultimately hit the jackpot with funds donated to the Lung Foundation.

The success prompted him to take on a bigger venture the following year when he again paired up with his employer and walked 700km in 15 days to raise $100,000 with only 50 per cent lung capacity.

He backed up that feat undertaking the inaugural Long Kayak for Lungs in 2018, a 42-day, 2200km paddle, which he completed with reduced lung capacity,

His drive to change his life and break the myth about smoking as the main cause of lung cancer took another turn in 2021 when his disease progressed significantly and doctors gave him the bad news that he had months, rather than years.

Luck was on his side and on June 30, 2021, he became a double lung transplant recipient, changing his life forever.

Double lung transplant recipient Bill Nierop. Pictures: Markus Ravik.

But a deadly lung infection kept him in Prince Charles Hospital ICU for nine days, which is when he vowed to raise money for research to help the hospital.

“I made a commitment that having paddled the Murray River, I would now kayak the Murrumbidgee.

“It’s not quite as far as the Murray but I am 70 years old and I have had a double lung transplant.”

For his efforts, he has raised $25,000 but wants to hit a target of $48,000 to pay for 1000 hours of transplant research and lung research through charity The Common Good and The Prince Charles Hospital.

More than 1250 people are diagnosed with Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis each year with many more affected by broader lung disease.

The Common Good chief executive Steve Francia said the venture would bring Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis to public attention.

“Awareness rates for Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis, and lung disease as a whole, is critically low in Australia and through Bill’s leadership, advocacy and fundraising, we can help drive forward research,” Mr Francia said.

“Bill’s support for the community is profound and extends far beyond financial support alone.

“The support and hope that Bill provides for others battling a debilitating and incurable lung disease cannot be understated.”

To learn more about the Long Kayak for Lungs, visit longkayakforlungs.com.au, and to donate visit: tcg.org.au/support-bill.

Originally published as Bill’s kayak odyssey to stub out smoking stigma after lung transplant