Local charity walk raises over $34,000 for Sick Kids hospital

Seven years ago, Melanie Wojtalik wasn’t sure if her two-year-old-son would be able to live a normal life.

Doctors diagnosed Ethan Penney with an autoimmune disease that forced Wojtalik to look for help at the Sick Kids Hospital in Winnipeg and later to Toronto. Ethan’s autoimmune system started attacking his platelets that are used to clot his blood.

Without those platelets, the body can’t repair itself.

Years later, Wojtalik said they’ve still fighting.

“Sick Kids has gotten him on a normal schedule,” she said. “Basically, over the last seven years we’ve been in and out of the hospitals for days and weeks. We’ve been traveling back and forth from Sick Kids so they could get him on a regiment that he can live a normal day-to-day life.”

Ethan, now nine-years-old, can do most activities that his peer can including playing soccer and wrestling but Wojtalik said she has to keep her oldest son away from high contact sports.

Explaining that to a young child is difficult, she said.

“It was worse when he was smaller because they didn’t know what was wrong with him,” she said. “It was just this never ending thing. It is awesome now because before he couldn’t participate in anything. For the longest time he couldn’t be a normal kid.”

Ethan and Wojtalik both attended the annual Walk for Miracles event at the Memorial Avenue Wal-Mart Sunday. More than 70 staff members and volunteers attended the walk in support of 14 Sick Kids hospitals.

Event spokeswoman Lisa Skirving said between all three local stores, they raised more than $34,000. She said that the amount raised can be delegated to any of the 14 hospitals and suspected that it would go to the one in London, Ont. as many local patients go there.

“We’re working on the hospitals that need that extra care with the really sick children,” she said. “It’s our way of giving back to the community.”

Although the city has only done the walk the past couple of years, Skirving added this year marked the 10th anniversary.