Awareness Walk for Gastroparesis
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Fundraiser Details
Fundraising for :
Gastroparesis
Location | Bellingham, Washington |
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End Date | September 8th 2012 |
The first annual Awareness Walk for Gastroparesis (GP) took place Saturday, September 8th in Bellingham, WA! The event began at the farmer's market at noon, along the scenic interurban trail between the Bellingham Farmers Market and Boulevard Park. Participants walked down the interurban trail along the bay towards Boulevard Park, wrapped around Woods Coffee and came back to the market. A booth was set up for registration and important information about GP. T-shirts were available, along with a selection of exciting silent auction items.
The walk was a huge success raising at least $3,000!!! Proceeds will go directly to research so that we can help fund further research and treatment options to not only improve but to save the lives of so many people suffering from gastroparesis. Weather could not have been more perfect, sunny, 80 degrees and no wind. So thankful for all the volunteers and their hard work, this could not have been possible without them. We had several visitors up from Seattle area and met many locals who are dealing with similar issues and learned so much.
Interesting Facts and Demographics:
- Gastroparesis is a condition in which the muscles of the stomach work poorly or not at all, preventing the stomach from emptying properly.
- Symptoms and Complications can include: severe nausea and/or vomiting, feeling of fullness after eating just a few bites, abdominal bloating, heartburn or gastric reflux, changes in blood sugar levels, lack of appetite, weight loss, fatigue and malnutrition, dysmotility of the intestines, and possibly the need for all liquid diet or feeding tube to deliver nutrition.
- GP affects more than 1.5 million Americans with over 100,000 suffering from a severe from of the disorder. Millions more are increasingly diagnosed worldwide.
- At least 20% of people with type 1 diabetes develop GP and can occur in type 2 diabetes as well.
In 2008, I was diagnosed with gastroparesis, at the age of 28, after experiencing extreme digestive distress and losing over 20 pounds in less than 2 months. It drastically changed my life, disabling me from not only from eating normally, but getting enough exercise, obtaining my master's degree, working, and living a fullfilled life like most young women do. Like many other patients, I have gone through a number of medications and procedures, including having a feeding tube placed in August of 2011, the only option left to save my life. Since then I have learned numerous ways to manage this illness through a dietary and lifestyle modifications, which in itself can seem like a full-time job at times. Currently, I work as a Health Coach (www.journeywithgp.com), inspiring and teaching others to make the best of what they have. It is my intention to be promote advocacy and raise as much awareness as possible to help the millions worldwide living with this life altering illness.
New: See our Etsy page at www.etsy.com/shop/JourneywithGP!
See our Facebook event page at www.facebook.com/walkforgastroparesis!
Special Thanks to Our Sponsors:
Donations of over $25 will receive a free t-shirt, please specify your size (S-XL) in the "Donation Notes" field.
$10,000.00
$2,125.75
A Fundraiser
Honor Roll
Name | Amount | Location | Date | Message | |
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Jo Allison | $100.00 | New York, Troy | Jul 6th 2012 | I was diagnosed with gastroparesis in 2006 after months of extreme pain. I had never heard of it before. Learning to deal with it has changed my life. I support any and all research to cure or treat GP. | |
Sharona Goodman | $25.00 | , Melbourne | Jul 8th 2012 | ||
Go Macro | $500.00 | Washington, Bellingham | Jul 31st 2012 | ||
Bellingham Community Food Co-op | $100.00 | Washington, Bellingham | Jul 31st 2012 | ||
Medical Massage | $100.00 | Washington, Bellingham | Jul 31st 2012 | ||
Carr Dorsch Family Dental | $100.00 | Washington, Bellingham | Aug 6th 2012 | ||
The Benhardt Family | $25.00 | New Jersey, East Brunswick | Aug 8th 2012 | ||
Hoagland Pharmacy | $250.00 | Washington, Bellingham | Aug 10th 2012 | ||
From owner of Bellingham SPORTS and SPINE Physicsl Therapy Clinic | $50.00 | Washington, Bellingham | Sep 4th 2012 | ||
Daniel & Shirley Torres | $140.00 | Washington, Bellingham | Sep 4th 2012 | ||
$100.00 | Washington, Bellingham | Sep 5th 2012 | |||
$25.00 | Washington, BELLINGHAM | Sep 6th 2012 | |||
Lenore Dick | $25.00 | Iowa, Milo | Sep 6th 2012 | I am so glad this walk is going to happen. For so long we have just suffered in private because noone else understands. Thank you for doing this. | |
Amy and Cory | $50.00 | Washington, Bellingham | Sep 7th 2012 | Sorry we can't do the walk this time, but please know we support you! |