Toronto Stroll

A lineup of Stroll for Liver participants walk holding a large Stroll for Liver banner

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Join us in Toronto for Stroll for Liver!

Sunday, June 2, 2019

Help us change the future for Canadians with liver disease! Join us for the Stroll for Liver –a family friendly, community-based walk/run event dedicated to raising funds for liver research and education.

1 in 4 Canadians may be affected by liver disease – Alice is one of them.

A young toddler with red hair smiles in front of some plantsAlice was only 4 days old when jaundice prompted her parents to bring her to the hospital. After a battery of invasive tests and procedures, Alice was diagnosed with an incurable liver disease called biliary atresia. She underwent emergency, life-saving surgery at just 68 days old. Without this surgery, she would not survive past her second birthday.

Alice is now an active, curious toddler, but she still goes for regular checkups and tests to monitor her condition. Since there is no cure for biliary atresia, it’s hard to know what the future will hold for Alice or other children with this and other liver diseases. Alice may one day need a liver transplant.

Help us change the future for Canadians with liver disease!

Register now

Why We Walk/Stroll/Run?

We walk to remember those we have lost, celebrate those who have survived and connect with those who have stepped along the same path as us.

When you join us on June 2nd at Milliken District Park, we will be supporting YOUR reason to walk.

Submit a photo before the event and tell us who you are walking for so that together, we can take the necessary steps towards raising awareness and much-needed funds for liver research, patient support and education.

Our Stroll for Liver walk is one where the whole family, including your furry member, can walk, run, and stroll together.

Family activities, bouncy castles, and games make this a day the kids won’t want to miss.

How to Participate in Three Easy Steps:

  1. Register as a team captain, team member, or individual.
  2. Start fundraising and raising awareness.
  3. Tell us who you’re walking for.

Registration is free, and every dollar raised will go towards our mission of bringing research to life for all Canadians by providing more studies into how we can better prevent, diagnose, treat or cure liver disease. Your participation will help increase the level of liver disease awareness in your community!

Register now

Registration Opens 8:30 AM At Picnic Shelter C
Walk/RUN  9:30 AM – 11:00 AM
Lunch 11:00 AM – 12:00 PM
Health & Wellness Fair 12:00 – 1:00 PM

Milliken District Park located at 5555 Steeles Ave E (Steeles and McCowan)
Free parking available on site.

Register Now! Click here.

Already registered? Print a pledge form and don’t forget to bring it with you everywhere you go. Can’t make the stroll? You can still support the event by making a donation from your desktop or mobile device.

For more information or for sponsorship and volunteer opportunities please contact Lucy You at (416) 491-3353 Ext. 4919 or by email at Lyou@liver.ca

The Canadian Liver Foundation acknowledges the following organizations for their support of the CLF’s mission of « bringing liver research to life » to benefit the liver health of all Canadians through research, education, patient support and advocacy.

 National 2019 Sponsor

Exclusive running retail sponsor

Running room

Sponsoring the Stroll for Liver can boost your profile in the community. You and your company, employees, friends and family can stand proud that your organization is supporting the world’s first organization committed to finding cures for all types of liver disease.

For more information about our Sponsorship Opportunities, please contact Lucy You at (416) 491-3353 ext 4919 or by email.

2018 Recap

Shirley and sonMy name is Shirley, I am a 43 year-old mom to three kids, ages 15, 13, and 9. In 2004, I was diagnosed at the age of 30 with primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC), an autoimmune disease which destroys the small bile ducts of the liver. I went through a lot of bloodwork, ultrasounds, CT scans, MRI’s, ERCP’s, and biopsies. At the beginning of my illness my symptoms were not noticeable, but I did feel nauseous most of the time. Later on, I had very itchy skin to the point where I would make myself bleed from scratching so much. I was jaundiced to the point that my kids and nieces would ask me why my eyes are yellow. There were many times when I would cry or put try and put humour into my illness, telling them that I ‘ate a lot of mustard’!

My first thought when I heard the diagnosis, was “cirrhosis”, and that I was going to die and leave behind my two kids. I had never heard of PBC and neither had my immediate family. I had the privilege of having a supportive family and we all educated ourselves together. At the time of my diagnosis, I was told by my doctor that in about 10 years, I would need a liver transplant. I was afraid of the end stage, of what my kids would have to go through, of not being able to find a donor—I wanted time to freeze. As the years went by, my illness progressed and so did my symptoms. The itchy skin was unbearable, my skin started darkening, my hair thinned, and I lost a tremendous amount of weight. The majority of my time was spent feeling exhausted, and a lot of times I did not find joy in my everyday activities.

As a mom though, I pushed myself to care for my kids. I had to find a positive attitude, find the creativity determination to continue to be there for my husband and my family. In 2012, I was at the end stage of my illness; I was put on a transplant waitlist and received my pager! I felt like that was one step closer to getting better. As a transplant candidate I had the option of a living donor. I had three people offer to be my living donor, and at the moment I found myself wanting to accept the help because I was so tired of being ill for so many years. But then, you stop and think what about their families, and the many “what if’s”.

Shirley and her sisterOne of those people that offered to help right from the initial stage of my illness was my only sister. While it wasn’t possible at the beginning of my illness, the time had come 10 years later for her to become my living donor. At the time, Lisa was five-months post-partum with her third child, and was raising two other girls ages five and seven. She decided without any hesitation to start the initial process to becoming a potential living donor. At the end of March 2014, I got the great news that my one and only sister was a match! I remember we all cried so much, there were tears of joy, knowing that I would see my kids and my nieces grow up, and that I would be given a second chance to create memories and reach milestones with them.

On August 11, we both received separate calls that our liver transplant would happen two days later. My sister had the opportunity to give the “gift of life”, and that alone is a major advantage to being a living donor.

Now, we are 2 Sisters 1 Liver!

Help us change the future for Canadians with liver disease!