OK, I guess that shouldn't be a surprise as for more than a decade Meagan's Walk has been happening the Saturday of Mother's Day weekend in Toronto, Canada. I was remiss in posting earlier about this amazing event. Every year, thousands of people come out to for a leisurely 5K walk ending at The Hospital for Sick children. The partipants then form a human chain all around the hospital to give the hospital and the kids a loving hug. All this is done to raise awareness and funds for pediatric brain tumor research.
Over the years, Meagan's Walk has raised more than 2.7 million dollars for Sick Kids brain tumor research. They directly fund preclinical research at the Arthur and Sonia Labatt Brain Tumour Research Center lead by Dr James Rutka as well as clinical care and research initiative lead by Dr Eric Bouffet.
So one might ask exactly why is this is a DIPG blog. Yes, Meagan had a diffuse brainstem glioma. The little girl's story is one that has been repeated again and again. She loved life playing with frineds and cuddling every little living creature. She died June 17, 2001 just about 7 months from diagnosis. Yet as we with so many of our kids, "Meagan's story is one of courage, spirit and hope." And as with so many parents, Denise- her mom, has continued to strive to make the story different for other families.
Sick Kids has been a powerhouse of reasearch for DIPG and all pediatric brain tumors. I am sure Meagan's Walk has been part of the reason.
Although this video is a few years old, pictures are worth more than all the words I could write here. Hearing the story from the mom and founder of Meagan's Walk is better than anything I could say.
