Sun City Sunflower Garden Club hosts annual walk for charity

The 8th Annual Holiday House Walk for Charity will take place on Thursday, December 14, 2-6 pm. at Sun City Huntley. The public is welcome to participate and enjoy a fabulous Winter Wonderland. This festive event benefits charities. We would like to share the very personal side of these charities of choices for one of the hosts.

Most mothers would agree that having a child is like watching your heart outside of your body. Having my daughter, now 34, is like that for me.

I chose Open Medicine Foundation (OMF) as my charity due to my daughter’s chronic, complex illness. Six years ago, out of the blue, her life was unraveled. Anyone who has a loved one with an illness, chronic or otherwise, knows that the illness affects the whole family. It is most difficult if it is a sick child or grandchild. Most doctors are not trained to handle chronic illnesses that are not well understood. They are not taught this in medical school. My daughter has had more MRIs, more CAT scans, more blood draws, more therapies than any 28-34 year old should ever have in a lifetime. Doctors, with the exception of three in Chicago, simply passed her from one specialty to another because her symptoms overlapped in too many circles. If the pills they prescribed and then the pills they prescribed for the side effects of the first medication did not work, she was told to see another specialist. No specialist would claim her. Not one of these physicians took to time to find the cause of her symptoms.

Through research, we found Dr. Kaufman in California in 2015 and had our first appointment in 2016. The wait list was months long. He was then associated with Harvard Medical Systems and currently has his own clinic (Clinic for Complex Illness) One of the diagnoses for my daughter is ME/CFS myalgia encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome. In the U.S, this fatigue is crushing. It is not the tired because you’ve had a long day. It’s fatigue like you are on chemotherapy. It affects millions of people and there is no treatment. (2.4 million In the U.S. –17 million worldwide.)

One ME/CFS specialist was quoted as saying she would rather be HIV positive than have ME/CFS. There is treatment for HIV. My daughter has greatly improved and continues to move forward, slowly. She is still not able to work.

OMF is focused on funding research that will put an end to this disease and bring back vitality to the many people now suffering-benefitting them, their families, and society. OMF is spearheading chronic, complex disease research with leading scientists and clinicians from around the globe. These experts bring their expertise in immunology, virology, genomics, informatics, molecular biology, epidemiology, infectious disease, oncology, pathology and clinical medicine. Research in ME/CFS has with it the expectation that discoveries in this disease will bring answers to other diseases that share some of the symptoms (such as Fibromyalgia and Lyme disease).

Marsha Geist, Chairwoman stated, “This is an exciting event and an opportunity to support several worthwhile charities. Tickets are selling quickly. This year we have added a large number of interesting raffle prizes to be awarded at the Reception at the Prairie Lodge Cedar Room. Winners will be drawn and the information posted by 5 pm. Winners need not be present to win.

The event is sponsored by Berkshire Hathaway/Starck Real Estate and Cruises International. Guests are invited to indulge in sweet holiday treats, many generously provided by local businesses such as Morke’s Chocolate, Manny’s Gelato and Drendel Corner Catering.

There will be six homes decorated in holiday splendor to tour. Tickets are only $10 and if purchased by December 1 will include a free raffle ticket. For advance sales or group sales, call 224 858-4843.

Ticket Sales at Prairie Lodge:

NOVEMBER

8, 9 a.m. to 12 p.m.
9, same
15, same
17, 4-7 p.m.
29, 9 a.m. to 12 p.m.

END OF FREE RAFFLE TICKET WITH HOUSEWALK TICKET PURCHASE

DECEMBER
1, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
5, 4-6 p.m.
12, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

RAFFLE TICKETS $1 EACH OR 6 FOR $5

DECEMBER 14

THE DAY OF THE EVENT TICKETS WILL BE AVAILABLE FROM 1-3 P.M. AT FOUNTAIN VIEW.

All proceeds will benefit the following charities selected by our hosts: Open Medicine Foundation; Ronald McDonald House VA Campus; Garfield Farm Museum; Juvenile Diabetes Research foundation; Great Lakes Greyhound and Greyhounds Only, Inc.

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