A family’s personal experience with kidney disease is helping support patients across Norfolk and Oxford
For Greg D’Hulster and his wife, Anita, the Kidney Walk is about much more than raising money.
The couple, originally from Tillsonburg, have been involved with the event for about 25 years. This year, they’re chairing the dual-county Norfolk Oxford Kidney Walk in Port Rowan on September 27. The walk actually started in Tillsonburg.
When the D’Hulsters moved to Port Rowan four years ago, Greg wanted to keep the strong Oxford County support going while bringing Norfolk County into the event.
For the D’Hulster family, the cause is deeply personal.
Their son had kidney problems from birth. When he was six, turning seven, Greg donated one of his own kidneys to his son.
That kidney lasted eight years before it failed. Their son was fortunate enough to receive another transplant, but the family continued to face the challenges that come with kidney disease. Before the first transplant, the family regularly travelled from Tillsonburg to London for dialysis.
Greg says the treatment could take most of a day.
Their son and another Tillsonburg resident, Ed DeSutter, later helped push for a dialysis unit at Tillsonburg hospital. D’Hulster says having treatment just minutes from home made a major difference for his son and the family.
Today, money raised through the Kidney Walk helps support people living with kidney disease, including those who choose home dialysis.
The event has raised about $135,000 over roughly 25 years. This year's approximately three-and-a-half-kilometre walk will take participants through the wetlands near the D’Hulsters’ Port Rowan home. Afterwards, the Long Point Lions Club will provide food for a barbecue, with prizes and door prizes also planned.
People can register individually or as a team through the Kidney Walk website by selecting the dual-county Norfolk Oxford Kidney Walk. Donations can also be made to teams already registered.
After 25 years of fundraising, the D’Hulsters are hoping another strong turnout on September 27 will continue helping kidney patients and their families across the region.
