87-year-old Calgary woman steps up to help fellow kidney patients

In the News: Learn more about this year’s Kidney March and meet Sylvia and Kasthon as they gear up to take on their own 100 KM journeys with tremendous support! Check out the Global News story by clicking the image below to view the video. 
Thank you kidney community for stepping up to show our Kidney March spirit!

“Organizers of this year’s Kidney March have had to make some changes because of the COVID-19 pandemic. But as Gil Tucker shows us, they’re getting some great support from a very determined patient.” –  Global News Calgary 

 

Cancelling ‘Not an Option’ for Kidney March 2020
Kidney March is going ahead in an exciting new format for 2020, keeping in theme with their annual motto “Failure is Not an Option.” This will be the 11th year for the three-day, 100-kilometre event held every September in the Calgary area and foothills of the Rocky Mountains.

The true impact of Kidney March, is beyond the numbers, it’s made up of every participant’s powerful story and the incredible impact is has on the lives of Canadians living with Kidney disease.

Meet Marcher Sylvia Shields, an 87-year-old kidney patient from Calgary. This year’s new virtual format will allow her to participate, and she is taking full advantage of it. She will be walking her 100 KM down the halls of her condo building the Aviemore in Calgary, with the help and encouragement of the other condo residents. Specifically, she will be cheered on by her core group of supporters and fellow Kidney Foundation volunteers known as the Aviemore Angels. She plans to walk about 2.6 kilometres per day, “Each floor is about 1.3 kilometres, so if I circle it twice, that will give me the distance I need per day. If it is nice out, and my health allows it, I will walk outside too.” Due to her health conditions, there was no way for her to participate in the outdoor, 3-day, 100 KM event in the past. “This is a wonderful opportunity for me to make a difference,” Sylvia said with excitement in anticipation of the challenge she is about to take on. Sylvia lost one of her kidneys early in her twenties and with only 11% kidney function remaining, she is now facing kidney failure, but Sylvia tells us that will not stop her from participating in Kidney March. “With the support of the Kidney Foundation, I have discovered unlimited resources that have allowed me to maintain a healthier lifestyle. Although we are living through unprecedented times, I am determined to do my part to give back to a foundation that has helped me and millions of Canadians.