Think of the worst cough you’ve ever had. Now imagine you lived with it every day. Imagine you rarely got a break from the coughing. Thick mucous clogs your lungs. You wheeze and feel short of breath. You have to deal with one chest infection after another, possibly even repeated bouts with pneumonia. That painful scenario is a reality for over 4,000 Canadian children, adolescents, and adults with cystic fibrosis (CF), the most common fatal genetic disease affecting children and young adults in our country.
People with CF aren’t statistics, they’re people around us, people close to us. People like 13-year-old Dante, a member of the DiFelice family, which owns and operates Waterdown Collision. You might not guess Dante has a genetic disease considering he plays rep hockey, soccer, rugby, flag football, and runs cross-country. The only clue you might get from looking at him is that he’s roughly 10-15 pounds underweight, a result of the bowel disturbances that also come with CF. It’s a deceptive disease, and one without a cure, which is why for the past several years, Waterdown Collision has hosted an annual charity car wash in support of Cystic Fibrosis Canada.
The car wash started out as a small event, but it’s grown into a much larger occasion in the Waterdown community. Over 375 cars from around Hamilton and beyond got a good scrubbing last year, and with the help of over 146 volunteers, we raised a whopping $14,040 for Cystic Fibrosis Canada. We’re expecting another big turnout this year, and we’ve enlisted the help of our local police officers to direct traffic and keep the roads in the area under control.
Our 2016 Charity Car Wash
Show your support for Dante, and everyone living with CF, by stopping by Waterdown Collision on Saturday, May 7, 2016 between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. for an exterior and interior car cleaning – and a barbeque lunch – for only $20.
There’s plenty to do for the whole family, as we’ll have fire trucks and police cars on location, face painting, balloon animals, and entertainment from Daffy Dill the Clown and Beebop the Clown.
And even though Mother’s Day happens the day after our charity car wash, we’ll still have free gifts for all the moms who stop by, courtesy of TERRA Greenhouses.
We hope to see you on Saturday, May 7 for Dante’s Journey to the Cure Car Wash!
Click here for more information.
More About Cystic Fibrosis
Cystic fibrosis is a genetic disease that is triggered when a child inherits two abnormal genes, one from each parent. It’s estimated that one in every 25 Canadians carry an abnormal form of the gene responsible for CF. When two parents who carry the abnormal gene have a child, there is a 25 percent chance the child will be born with CF.
Cystic fibrosis presents itself in a number of symptoms, including: persistent cough with thick mucous, wheezing and shortness of breath, recurrent chest infections, intestinal obstructions, frequent stools, weight loss or failure to gain weight, and decreased fertility.
The degree to which the disease impacts an individual varies, but typical complications of CF include difficulty digesting fats and proteins, vitamin deficiencies, and progressive loss of lung functioning.
Click here if you’d like to Support Dante’s Journey to the Cure Charity Car Wash.