An Ottawa man has been chosen as an honorary walker in a Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation Take Steps walk.
Kyle Duffy, 18, will be participating in the walk on Sunday, June 14, in Lisle. His mother, Vicki Duffy, believes Kyle likely was chosen because of the success he had last year raising funds. Duffy first participated in the walk in June 2008 with his family and raised more than $3,000 for research, education and support of Crohn”s Disease, a painful and unpredictable digestive disease affecting more than 1.4 million children and adults nationwide. Vicki also participated.
“For me, it was just because you feel so helpless when your child has a chronic disease and there’s nothing you can do to help,” Vicki said of her reason for participating.
To make a donation to the Duffy family team, visit www.cctakesteps.org or mail a donation to Kyle Duffy, 945 E. 1499th Road, Ottawa, IL 61350.
Duffy was diagnosed in 2006 with ulcerative colitis. The following year, he endured two flare ups, resulting in Duffy missing four weeks of school.
“Those four weeks were the most difficult in my life, mainly due to the fact that I put off telling anyone how sick I actually was,” Duffy wrote in a Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation publication. “By the time I actually began to be treated, there wasn’t much that could be done to help me immediately.”
After his second flare up, he went to University of Chicago Hospital where he was diagnosed with Crohn’s Disease,
Despite his illness, Duffy managed to play a full season of football and baseball and maintained a 4.167 GPA. Today he is a student at the University of Illinois majoring in civil and environmental engineering and his disease has been in remission for two years.
“Other than taking some pills every day, I am able to lead a perfectly normal and healthy life,” he wrote.