Walk-athon Raises Awareness and Funds for Rare Disorder

The sixth annual AHCF Chicago Walk was held at Paulus Park on Sept. 18. By Josh Katzman On Sept. 18, family and friends turned out for the sixth annual AHCF Chicago Walk in Paulus Park. Alternating hemiplegia of childhood is a rare neurological disorder. There are just four or five children in the area known to have it and only about 600 who have been diagnosed with it worldwide. The walk-athon in Lake Zurich is one of four across the country that is coordinated by families of children with AHC. The other locations include Raleigh, N.C. (held Sept. 10), East Lansing, Mich., (Sept. 23) and Neola, Iowa (Oct.1). The Chicago area walk was started by the godparents of 9-year-old Emma Platt of Mount Prospect, who has AHC. Gene and Kelly Andrasco and their 10-year-old daughter Kiley, who also has AHC, are organizers of the event along with Emma’s parents, Andy and Vicky. Besides the walk along the lake through Paulus Park, there was a raffle that included generous donations from various local businesses, including Best Buy, Dick’s Sporting Goods, Fitness 19, Home Depot and Target. Also featured were assorted sports and carnival games, and a number of other kid-oriented activities. Although the walk-athon already has happened, you can still make a donation by going to  http://ahckids.org/walk-with-us/chicago-2011/. For more information about AHC, visit ahckids.org. [slideshow id=5]