Sudbury Gutsy Walk 2019

On Sunday, I participated in the Gutsy Walk for Crohn's and Colitis. It's an annual fundraising walk that raises money for Crohn's and Colitis Canada, an organization here in Canada that funds Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis research, provides various programs for people living with the diseases, and raises awareness and educates people about the diseases. Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis are forms of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).Canada has one of the highest rates of IBD in the world and it is estimated that 1 in 140 Canadians has IBD. 

I am actually one of those Canadians living with IBD. I have ulcerative colitis for which I am on a biologic drug called Remicade that I receive through an IV infusion every eight weeks and it keeps my colitis under control. I had to go on this drug when my colitis flared up badly in 2016. We found out that the inflammation had spread throughout my colon and my body was not responding well enough to the usual IBD medications so I needed something stronger. It was really scary and, afterwards, I really wanted to get more involved in spreading awareness about IBD and help other people living with the diseases so I decided to start volunteering with my local chapter of Crohn's and Colitis Canada.

I started volunteering with the Sudbury chapter of Crohn's and Colitis Canada in September 2017 and this year's Gutsy Walk was my second time volunteering at the walk although it was my fourth time attending the walk. Last year I was in charge of the kids/activity area on walk day so I took on the same role this year. Last year I had a lot of anxiety since it was my first time volunteering at the walk but this year was so much better. I still had a bit of anxiety before the walk but once we got started setting up I was much better since I knew what to do from last year.

The kids/activity area had three tables underneath two canopy tents. There was a hired face painter who also made balloon animals, bags of candies with sticks in order to make a candy kabob resembling the gutsy guy logo of Crohn's and Colitis Canada, temporary tattoos of that same gutsy guy logo, "I want _____ to stop" stickers where you could fill in something IBD-related that you want stopped and could stick on a board that we had available, a binder full of educational brochures, as well as an area that required donations which included a plinko game. The face painting, tattoos, and candy were obviously very popular with the kids at the walk. 

Since I was in charge of the area, I helped set it up and decided where everything went and then helped out wherever I was needed in the area. I did, however, make it a goal of mine to get lots of people to fill out the stickers for the board since people were not as attracted to that activity last year. This year, I wanted the board to be filled with lots of stickers so I would ask anyone who came to the table if they wanted to fill out a sticker and the board, as you can see in the photo at the beginning of this post, was filled quite nicely.

By the end of the walk, I was just really happy. I had so much fun and I feel so much more confident volunteering at the walk now. It was so amazing to participate in something so important to me and get to talk to some people about IBD and show that they are not alone in having IBD or supporting someone who has IBD. I just wish that the brochures would have been more popular. I think encouraging people to look through the brochures will be my big goal next year and I look forward to it. I'm so excited for next year!

Cheers,

Kaylie