by Nicole Tomlinson / contributor
When functioning normally, our immune systems fight for our health. But for one in 150 Canadians with Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD), this system has gone rogue, inexplicably causing the body to attack itself.
It鈥檚 a battle that leads to ulcers, internal bleeding, and razor-sharp pain.
Those afflicted with IBD face exhaustion, depression and physical suffering.
One in 20 will be hospitalized this year. It鈥檚 a disease on the rise, striking Canadians more often than any other country in the world. And it鈥檚 targeting the young.
Sam Briggs is one of an estimated 5,900 Canadian children living with IBD, which includes Crohn鈥檚 and ulcerative colitis. Now 11 years old, Sam was diagnosed with Crohn鈥檚 last year.
And like an estimated 233,000 Canadians, he鈥檚 discovered it鈥檚 a life-changer. He frequently misses school because he鈥檚 in acute pain, and spent last year鈥檚 baseball season on the bench.
He鈥檚 had to learn to feed himself through a tube because when the inflammation gets bad, he can鈥檛 eat, sometimes for weeks.
Sam isn鈥檛 a teenager yet, but he鈥檚 already 47-per-cent more likely to die prematurely than those without IBD. With one of the highest rates of childhood-onset IBD in the world, more Canadian children join him each day.
British Columbia is on the forefront of IBD research, a disease that is more common in Canada than HIV or multiple sclerosis. As of today, IBD鈥檚 cause 鈥� and cure 鈥� remain a mystery, burdening the Canadian health care system and costing taxpayers an estimated $2.8 billion a year.
The 2013 Gutsy Walk benefitting the Crohn鈥檚 & Colitis Foundation of Canada (CCFC) aims to change the tide. Now in its 17th year, funds raised at the event support researchers, healthcare providers, patients and their loved ones in a bid to conquer IBD and live healthy, happy lives.
鈥淭he Gutsy Walk is a great way to spread awareness of IBD and raise much-needed funds to support essential research,鈥� says Mavreen David, CCFC Chapter Development Coordinator. 鈥淭he more people get involved, the more steps we will take towards curing this growing disease once and for all.鈥�
The Surrey Gutsy Walk takes place on June 9 at Bear Creek Park. From now until the walk, critical fundraising efforts will be in full gear. People can register a team for the walk and raise funds, or donate to the cause directly.
For more information, visit www.gutsywalk.ca
To learn more about Sam, check him out on YouTube: http://youtu.be/t3T2Ek8AePA
