Ohio Valley Team Hope Walk to raise awareness of Huntingtons Disease – Hamilton Journal News

Its not a run, its a walk. Its really a fun event. Usually, we have a DJ, music and food, and its a place for our community to come together and be around other families that are impacted by this rare disease, and find social support and connection, and also do some good fundraising for the community, Jacobs said.

Huntingtons disease is a fatal genetic disease that affects the nerve cells in the brain and is described as having ALS, Parkinsons, and Alzheimers disease simultaneously. Today, there are approximately 41,000 symptomatic Americans and more than 200,000 people at risk of inheriting the disease.

Its a familial disease thats passed down from generation to generation. Its carried down from the parents to the children. Its a progressive disease with no real cure or treatment.

Our Huntingtons Disease community is very intertwined, and by that, I mean that we have a lot of medical professionals, social workers like myself, we have family members, we have patients that are doing the walk, which is a big deal, because a lot of them have difficulty in walking, or theyre in wheelchairs. So, its a huge community event that involves all different kinds of folks that come to this walk, from professionals, down to the patients, and the caregivers as well as people that are at risk for this disease, or that have lost a loved one to this disease. A lot of our community overlaps, so a lot of our medical staff, or researchers are impacted by Huntingtons Disease in their families, themselves. So, its a really tight-knit community, said Jacobs, who lost her father to Huntingtons disease.

Its important to get people together to combat isolation, and let people know they arent facing this terminal neurodegenerative disease on their own, she said.

Team Hope is HDSAs largest national grassroots fundraising event, which will place in over 100 different cities across the U.S. The event has raised more than $20 million nationally for Huntingtons disease since its inception in 2007.

Thousands of families, friends, co-workers, neighbors, and communities walk together each year to support HDSAs mission to improve the lives of people affected by Huntingtons disease and their families.

What: Ohio Valley Team Hope Walk

Where: Voice of America MetroPark, 7850 VOA Park Drive, West Chester Twp.

When: 10 a.m. Sunday

More info: Contact Lindsay Morrison at lmeekerrn@gmail.com

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Ohio Valley Team Hope Walk to raise awareness of Huntingtons Disease - Hamilton Journal News