It’s fall in the Old Pueblo and that means a bounty of charity walks for the crisp mornings or mild nights.
Those in search of evening events can:
- Walk in Break the Silence, Walk in Alliance to support domestic violence awareness at 5:30 p.m. Oct. 23 at Jácome Plaza, 101. N. Stone Ave.
- Or at Light the Night for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society at 7 p.m. Oct. 26 at Park Place, 5870 E. Broadway.
If you are a morning person, consider these upcoming fundraising walks:
- Walk to Defeat ALS at 8 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 5, on Bucky Steele Drive at Reid Park.
- Or the Tucson Take Steps Walk for the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation event at 8 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 12, at Brandi Fenton Memorial Park, 3482 E. River Road.
“People are afraid to talk about Crohn’s disease and colitis. My brother says that I don’t have a ‘sexy disease’ … no one wants to hear about colon problems. It is hard to raise money when it is a disease that many people haven’t heard about and those who have it are embarrassed to talk about it,” said Shayna Walton, who was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis in 2012 and will serve as the “honored hero” at the walk.
Walton, 30, is one of more than 70,000 Arizonans and about 3 million Americans living with irritable bowel disease, according to Linae Stoner, development coordinator with the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation Southwest Chapter.
“These are reported numbers; the actual number are estimated to be much higher since most people won’t discuss their bathroom habits,” said Stoner.
The foundation is trying to change that by promoting awareness, education and advocacy about IBD, which is attributed to possible genetic and environmental factors in combination with an inappropriate immune response to the intestinal tract that results in chronic inflammation.
Walton understands the impact of IBD.
“The polite way to describe it is that it feels like chronic food poisoning; that is how someone who doesn’t have it might relate to it,” said Walton, whose ulcerative colitis has been marked by numerous flair-ups necessitating medication changes followed by periods of stability.
During a stable period several years ago, she felt fortunate to become pregnant with her son Ben, now 19 months. She enjoyed good health during her pregnancy, but her medication stopped working postpartum.
“I weighed 83 pounds a few months after having Ben and had to be hospitalized for a time. While I was in the hospital they told me I had to quit breastfeeding immediately and I couldn’t see Ben for a few days. As a new mom, that was the hardest part of being sick,” Walton said.
Often too ill to leave the house after returning home, she credits her husband, Brian Norman, along with family and friends for their support during the difficult year that followed.
Now that she is again stable, she continues to practice an attitude of gratitude for “every good day and everything she has.”
She has also refocused efforts on raising money for the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation, which has funded more than $330 million in research nationwide since its inception in 1967.
