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Liver Life Walk Phoenix

>Spend your Saturday morning with family and friends while supporting the American Liver Foundation's eighth annual dog friendly & fundraising Liver Life Walk.Sponsored by Mayo Clinic.

March 20th, 2010 (8:30 a.m. - 11:30 a.m.)

Contact: Shari Ordog
Phone: 602-953-1800(Fax: 602-953-1806)
Web: Email

Hosted by American Liver Foundation
Steele Indian School Park - Directions
300 E. Indian School Road
Phoenix, AZ 85012

Walkers, recruited through corporations, the medical community, school groups and the general public will participate in this energizing event!

Held annually, the Liver Life Walk Phoenix will be the American Liver Foundation – Desert Southwest Division's eighth dog friendly walk. With food, entertainment, and prizes, this 5k/1k walk promises to be a great time for all ages. Walkers can visit the Family Expo to gather information from family & dog oriented companies. Individual and team walkers are encouraged to attend. The Liver Life Walk is a fundraising event and donations are encouraged.

Sponsored by Mayo Clinic

Walk Site Details

Saturday, March 20, 2010

Steele Indian School Park
300 E. Indian School Road
Phoenix, AZ 85012

Registration begins: 8:30 a.m.

5K/1K Walk starts: 9:30 a.m.

Festivities: 8:30 – 11:30 a.m.

Walkers who raise $100 or more...

Receive an official WALK t-shirt*!

* Walkers raising $100 or more in confirmed on-line donations by March 1, 2010 will receive their t-shirt at the Liver Life Walk.

* Walkers raising $100 or more in confirmed on-line donations after March 1, 2010 may pick up their t-shirts at the American Liver Foundation office after the Liver Life Walk.

Register On-line Today!

http://go.liverfoundation.org/site/TR/LiverLifeWalk2010/LiverLifeWalk?fr_id=1750&pg=entry

Meet Charlie - our Youth Ambassador!

Welcome! Congratulations and thank you for joining the Liver Life Walk (LLW)! By doing so, you are joining a dedicated group of people who are taking one step at a time to raise awareness and end the devastating effects of liver disease.

We hope that you will enjoy your experience with us!

Charlie has been involved with the LLW most of his life as the youth ambassador. We would like to share Charlie’s story with you.

Charlie’s lifelong battle is what motivates us, as a family, to get out in the community and join the fight against liver disease. Charlie was born on May 20, 1996 in Phoenix as the fourth child in our family. Charlie weighed in at 8-pounds, 2-ounces and was healthy – or so everyone thought. Two months after his birth, he was diagnosed with Biliary Atresia (BA), a rare disease that disintegrates the bile ducts that lead from the liver to the intestines. The result is liver failure.

Charlie’s doctors decided to attempt a surgical procedure called a Kasai which was successful but temporary and Charlie’s liver continued to fail. Dr. Mitchell Shub, Charlie’s GI physician, discussed with us that the only alternative was a liver transplant. We decided that the UCLA Medical Center was the best place to handle the surgery and Charlie was officially put on a waiting list in late October and all we could do was wait and hope. We endured three false alarms before Charlie finally received his brand new liver.

The big day came on January 4, 1997 when Charlie underwent the transplant operation. The surgery took seven hours and he had tubes, stitches, staples and wires all over his body. Charlie was lucky, but he was not out of the woods yet. Over the next two years, he endured two rejections of his new liver, which required a lot of testing and medication to correct. Charlie has been trying to grow up as a normal child. The daily medications and the greater risk of contracting illnesses he faces often inhibit his ability to do just that. Despite all of the obstacles he has faced, Charlie has emerged a happy-go-lucky kid who lives every day to the fullest.

See you at the Liver Life Walk on Saturday, March 20th. Tell everyone to come out and join in the fun!!

Sincerely,

The Musgrove Family
Mary, Mark, Sarah, Samantha, Andy and Charlie

The mission of American Liver Foundation (ALF) is to facilitate, advocate and promote education, support and research for the prevention, treatment and cure of liver disease.

Page updated: March 4th, 2010