Shelly Nastor has made a point of spreading awareness and fundraising for Crohn’s and Colitis causes since her daughter was diagnosed with colitis at the age of 12. This Sunday, she’s organizing a “Gutsy Walk” with Crohn’s and Colitis Canada to do just that in town.
Gutsy Walks are Canada-wide events that aim to support people living with Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis. Colitis and Crohn’s are both chronic inflammatory bowel diseases. Colitis specifically affects the inner lining of the large intestine whereas Crohn’s disease can impact any area in the digestive tract. Colitis is typically caused as a result of bacterial infections in the colon or autoimmune disorders; Crohn’s is often the result of a mix genetics, since the disease is known to run in families, and factors like diet and physical health.
“I’ve done my own fundraising since my daughter was diagnosed at 12, she’s 30 now.” Nastor said. “I don’t necessarily want people to have to go out and fund raise. I just want there to people to notice us out walking and raise awareness.”
Both conditions are often overlooked, with societal stigmas making it uncomfortable or embarrassing for people to bring up issues with bodily functions on their own.
“There’s a little bit of an embarrassment around it,” Nastor said. “People are afraid to talk about that, to be honest.”
Although it can feel awkward to discuss these things, symptoms of these illnesses don’t just “go away” forever, and the only way to begin treating them is to bring it up with a medical professional.
There are plenty of medications, treatments and support systems for people living with these conditions emerging in the world aimed at boosting quality of life that weren’t readily available in the past—and it’s efforts like these fundraising walks that make it possible.
Anyone looking to learn more about either disease and their individual treatments can start by visiting www.crohnsandcolitis.ca
Nastor has current personal goal set of raising $2,000 towards Crohn’s and colitis research. Anyone looking to help meet her goal can visit her personal donation page at http://bit.ly/4e2Bj12.
The walking group will be easily identifiable on Sunday morning by Nastor’s red Gutsy shirt. They plan on departing from La Verendrye Hospital at 10 a.m., then walking to Seven Oaks and back. All are welcome to join.
