Take Great Strides to help little Liam battle CF
First York CF fundraising walk slated for Richmond Hill May 25

Yorkregion.com
May 13, 2014
Marney Beck

Even during her second pregnancy, Thornhill’s Natalie Doyle could tell that something was wrong.

Liam Doyle, currently two years old, was born with cystic fibrosis (CF), the most common fatal genetic disease in Canada. As a multi-system disease, CF mainly attacks the lungs and digestive system, creating devastating and life-threatening symptoms and side-effects.

In the lungs, mucus clogs up, leading to dangerous respiratory problems and infection. Sadly, the median age of survival is 48.5 years and there is no cure for CF.

“Some days I just feel like lying down and giving up. Crying out ‘why me, why us’?” Natalie wrote on her Facebook page, Cystic Fibrosis Great Strides Walk for Liam Bear. “And then I shake my head and say GET UP and fight. And remind myself of all the things I should be grateful for.”

Natalie and her husband Jamey have been working hard to organize the first Great Strides Walk in Richmond Hill and York Region, set for Sunday, May 25.

Once a year, communities and families all across Canada participate in the Great Strides Walk, an event that raises funds to find a cure for CF. Since 2005, more than $18.5 million has been invested in life-saving CF research, clinical care and advocacy.

“CF terrifies me,” the mother of two wrote on her Facebook wall. “But nothing will stop me from doing what I can to find a cure and make CF stand for Cure Found.”

The family hopes a minimum of 100 people to attend and have set York Region’s fundraising goal is $15,000.

CF can develop in a child when two damaged copies of the gene responsible for the disease is inherited from each parent. One in 25 Canadians are carriers. Statistically, there is a one in four chance for two parent carriers to pass on CF to their children, a one in four chance that they will not inherit the defective gene, and a 50 per cent chance that they would be a carrier.

Both Natalie and Jamey, who work at Fraticelli’s and Turtle Jack’s in Beaver Creek, respectively, were unknowing carriers of the damaged gene.

The restaurants are both being very supportive of the fundraiser and staff at each are creating their own teams to participate.

At home, Liam’s sister Madelynn, 3, assists her younger brother by spoon-feeding him applesauce, which supplies his body with enzymes, a much needed catalytic protein that helps break down food.

“Hold on tight to what you have. Never take anything for granted. Focus only on what you have and forget about the rest,” Natalie advises through Facebook.

The Great Strides Walk will start at Turtle Jack’s restaurant at 11740 Yonge St., Richmond Hill May 25, involving a choice of two 4-kilometer routes. Music, coffee, muffins and bottled water will be provided, with a barbecue to conclude the walk. The event will begin at 9:30 a.m.

To register or donate, visit cysticfibrosis.ca/greatstrides. To see Natalie’s Facebook page and learn more about Liam’s fight, visit https://www.facebook.com/pages/Cystic-Fibrosis-Great-Strides-Walk-for-Liam-Bear/148173302029381