Moncton Gutsy Walk aims to raise awareness, money and a sense of community
Dressed in red and gathered together as a community, everyone at Moncton’s annual “Gutsy Walk” had been touched by Crohn’s and Colitis in some way.
“[The] IWK practically saved my life in January, told me I had Crohn’s and how to treat it,” said 14-year-old Zoe Allian, who explained that she started getting really sick shortly after her 14th birthday.
“It’s been better, but it was a long process, to be honest,” she said.
While officials call it an invisible disease, it impacts a lot of people in a lot of different ways.
“In Atlantic Canada, we’re seeing about one person in 100 people, which is the highest rate among the world,” said Véronique Gaudet, Moncton Gutsy Walk local honorary chair.
“Crohn’s and Colitis are two different types of bowel disease, so it’s basically inflammation. People can get lots of pain, and some people have severe disease that can lead to disability or needing surgeries or colostomy bags and things like that, and so it’s a pretty severe illness in terms of quality of life.”
On Sunday, people across Canada walked to raise money for research and patient support programs. Money raised across the country gets added together and put towards resources that will benefit everyone living with the disease.
“There’s only so many treatment options available and one thing that a lot of people don’t know is once you fail a treatment, you can’t ever go back to that treatment,” said Crohn’s and Colitis Canada Moncton Chapter president Mandi Lawson.
“There’s only so many medications that are approved and we need more. We need more treatment options so that people can be feeling well because eventually you get through all of them and you’re at the end of your rope.”
While Monctonians walked alongside other Canadians on Sunday, the local event was also used to find strength in each other.
“My son has Crohn’s disease. He’s 15 now but when he was first diagnosed, he actually had a feeding tube,” said Lawson.
“All of the nurses and all of the doctors in the world could tell me how to put a feeding tube in, how to clean a feeding tube, but no one could tell me how to live with a feeding tube – only another mom, who had been on this journey and knew how to deal with it at school, how to deal with it in the middle of the night, how to deal with the bathroom trips… so you need other people who have been on this journey because they understand what it’s like to live in a way that medical professionals don’t.”
The event saw people walk together and share personal stories of strength and inspiration.
“I was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease at 13-years-old and I think through my journey of the diagnosis and going through the illness I developed a lot of resilience and wanting to push for helping people and that’s why I applied to med school and I just recently graduated,” said Gaudet.
She says she plans to stay in Atlantic Canada and is going into internal medicine.
While only 20 team leaders registered, around 75 people showed up in support and solidarity on Sunday.
“I found a lot of inspiration in the community and in talking to people and to sharing my story as well, so I find it important to be able to host an event like this and to be a voice for the community as well,” said Gaudet.
The goal in Moncton was to raise $18,000 and to build a community around people living with Crohn’s and Colitis.
“I think it’s great for the people here to meet other people and make new friends that have the same thing as them,” said Allain.
“We’re not different than other people. I mean, everyone is different in their way and this is not a reason to single us out.”
For more New Brunswick news visit our dedicated provincial page.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING NEWS Honda to get up to $5B in govt help for EV battery, assembly plants
Honda is set to build an electric vehicle battery plant next to its Alliston, Ont., assembly plant, which it is retooling to produce fully electric vehicles, all part of a $15-billion project that is expected to include up to $5 billion in public money.
BREAKING New York appeals court overturns Harvey Weinstein's 2020 rape conviction from landmark #MeToo trial
New York’s highest court on Thursday overturned Harvey Weinstein’s 2020 rape conviction, finding the judge at the landmark #MeToo trial prejudiced the ex-movie mogul with improper rulings, including a decision to let women testify about allegations that weren’t part of the case.
Residents of northern Alberta First Nation told to shelter in place
Residents of John D'Or Prairie, a community on the Little Red River Cree Nation in northern Alberta, were told to take shelter Thursday morning during a police operation.
Monthly earnings rise, payroll employment falls: jobs report
The number of vacant jobs in Canada increased in February, while monthly payroll employment decreased in food services, manufacturing, and retail trade, among other sectors.
Doctors say capital gains tax changes will jeopardize their retirement. Is that true?
The Canadian Medical Association asserts the Liberals' proposed changes to capital gains taxation will put doctors' retirement savings in jeopardy, but some financial experts insist incorporated professionals are not as doomed as they say they are.
Secret $70M Lotto Max winners break their silence
During a special winner celebration near their hometown, Doug and Enid shared the story of how they discovered they were holding a Lotto Max ticket worth $70 million and how they kept this huge secret for so long.
Remains from a mother-daughter cold case were found nearly 24 years later, after a deathbed confession from the suspect
A West Virginia father is getting some sense of closure after authorities found the remains of his young daughter and her mother following a deathbed confession from the man believed to have fatally shot them nearly two decades ago.
Something in the water? Canadian family latest to spot elusive 'Loch Ness Monster'
For centuries, people have wondered what, if anything, might be lurking beneath the surface of Loch Ness in Scotland. When Canadian couple Parry Malm and Shannon Wiseman visited the Scottish highlands earlier this month with their two children, they didn’t expect to become part of the mystery.
Metro Vancouver mayors call for serial killer Robert Pickton to be denied parole
A dozen mayors from around Metro Vancouver say federal Attorney General and Justice Minister Arif Virani should deny parole for notorious B.C. serial killer Robert Pickton, and reassess the parole and sentencing system for 'prolific offenders and mass murderers.'