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Senior Patrick Kelly Is the Honored Hero for Take Steps Walk on May 3

Patrick Kelly is inspiring the community to participate in the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation’s Delaware Take Steps Walk on Saturday, May 3 at 3:30 p.m. at Dravo Plaza on the Wilmington Riverfront. Patrick is living with Crohn’s disease which combined with ulcerative colitis, are painful, debilitating digestive diseases impacting over 1.4 million American adults and children, with as many as 150,000 under the age of 18 including 2,611 in Delaware. 

At 10 years old Patrick was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease. He had to endure countless doctors visits and tests. The hospital became a "normal" place to go. The steroids made him “look like a balloon” and adjusting to life in 5th grade with a chronic disease was difficult and embarrassing. Patrick was afraid he wouldn’t be able to play sports living with Crohn’s disease.
 
“At this point in my life, living with Crohn’s disease defines me and I’m perfectly content with that. It can be a pain sometimes but a lot of things in life can be,” says Patrick. “I now look forward to the Delaware Take Steps Walk every spring as a way to inform more and more of my friends about the disease and about what it means to live with it. I am beyond thrilled to be the Honored Hero of this year’s Walk and hope that my story will have a huge impact on others and show them that there is always hope.”
 
The Upper School will be holding a Jeans Day soon to help raise awareness of the diseases and funds for research.

To join the walk on May 3, click here and select Patrick's team: Pat's Playas. 

Thousands of people will gather this spring at nearly 80 walk sites across the country to join the fight against Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis. The walks are family friendly festivals with activities for everyone including music, games, activities, food and a leisurely walk through a park or community. Take Steps has raised over $40 million for research and patient support services and is committed to transforming the lives of those impacted by these diseases and leading them to a brighter future through well- funded, cutting-edge scientific research.
 
For more information on how to get involved with Take Steps and to find a 2014 Spring walk site nearest you, please visit www.cctakesteps.org or contact Carly Presnell at (646) 306-0729 or cpresnell@ccfa.org.
 
The 2014 Delaware Take Steps Walk is being sponsored by Mid-Atlantic GI Consultants (MAGIC), Nemours A.I. duPont Hospital for Children, Kelly’s Logan House, Aquila of Delaware, and McCarter & English.
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