Family heads out for Gutsy Walk

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This article was published 07/06/2021 (1837 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A new addition to the Westman Gutsy Walk, the Southcombe family headed out to a Brandon walking path Sunday to hike five kilometres for the charitable cause.

“It’s a lot more prevalent than people would normally believe,” Team Zach Attack leader Roseanna Southcombe said of the inflammatory bowel diseases Crohn’s and Colitis Canada supports through Gutsy Walks across the country.

“It’s fairly invisible, you can’t just see someone’s sick.”

Southcombe’s son, Zach, was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease in 2019 at the age of 12.

He’d lost approximately 10 pounds in six weeks, was unable to eat much without getting a stomach ache and had very little energy. A fever proved the tipping point, prompting the family to seek medical care, which resulted in a quick diagnosis.

“I have nothing but admiration and appreciation for all the physicians and nurses and people we’ve dealt with over the last couple years,” Southcombe said.

“His specialist is fantastic, and his whole staff really knows how to talk to kids, and they included him with his treatment plan … and talked to him. We’ve had really, really excellent care all the way through.”

Zach is now symptom-free and “living the best life we could hope for,” she said, adding he currently has to take weekly medications and visit the hospital every six weeks for a biologics treatment — “a heavy dose if immune-suppressant drugs, but they work.”

This brings his overactive immune system closer to normal, she said, though there are some gaps.

He has no immunity to chickenpox, for example.

“We don’t know where the gaps are, or what he’d be susceptible to, but for the most part he should be able to participate in life and activities like everyone else,” Southcombe said, adding that not everyone with inflammatory bowel disease is as fortunate.

“In the grand scope of things, we’re very thankful.”

Following her son’s diagnosis, Southcombe began researching what services are available when she came across Crohn’s and Colitis Canada, which advocates on behalf of people with these conditions.

One thing they’ve drawn attention to recently is some provinces shifting away from biologics, such as what Zach is treated with, toward a cheaper alternative treatment.

“My fear is you have a politician making a medical decision for me and his physician,” Southcombe said. “That causes me to be nervous.”

Keen on supporting this organization’s advocacy efforts and the annual Camp Got2Go summer camp they host, Southcombe said her family was happy to participate in the Westman Gutsy Walk.

Their goal of raising $1,000 was surpassed, with Team Zach Attack raising $1,360 through social media and Southcombe’s co-workers at the Westman Regional Laboratory.

In addition to his mother, Zach’s team was also made up of his brother, Liam, and father, Will. The four walked five kilometres on Sunday.

Approximately 15-20 Westman teams typically participate each year, according to a Crohn’s and Colitis Canada spokesperson.

As of midday Sunday, the national effort had raised more than $2 million and growing, while Manitoba had raised $91,000 and Westman teams netted $3,800 of their $7,500 goal.

Funds are invested into research projects leading toward cures and finding new treatments and support programs for the 270,000 Canadians living with inflammatory bowel disease. There are more than 8,700 people living with Crohn’s or colitis in Manitoba.

Although this year’s walk was held separately and limited to household bubbles due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Southcombe said she hopes to see next year’s event draw a crowd.

“It would be nice to have it in person so we could meet other members of the community,” she said, adding there are more people living with these conditions than most people realize, with inflammatory bowel disease fairly invisible.

“We’ve got to find ways to support them in a kind and open way.”

» tclarke@brandonsun.com

» Twitter: @TylerClarkeMB