By Mike Hogan
Contributing Writer
This past weekend, Darryn Fiske, the St. Bonaventure University strength and conditioning coach hosted his 11th annual cystic fibrosis walk in dedication to his 12-year-old nephew, Andrew, who was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis at birth.
Cystic fibrosis is a terminal disease that damages the lungs as well as the digestive system, and it is life-threating. There is no cure for the disease, but treatment does help slow it down; it is estimated that there are about 200,000 cases a year in the United States.
The Bonnies were well represented at the walk in Salamanca, New York on Saturday with representatives from six of the Bonnie’s Division I sports in attendance, including both basketball and swimming teams, tennis, women’s soccer and lacrosse. Fiske later added that there were around 300 people at the event overall. The walk was originally held in the town of Ellicottville.
According to Fiske, while there were a decent amount of people walking, the majority of the money that was raised came from sponsorships.
“My family and I just felt like it didn’t make people aware of what the disease was, so we decided to do a walk in Salamanca, and this is our 11th year,” said Fiske. “It’s just a huge event in the Salamanca community.”
While walking to raise money for the disease, Fiske said there are four more important factors to this annual event, such as awareness and better resources to lead to a cure.
“The biggest goal is to find a cure, but right now that cure is elusive,” said Fiske. “So we’re raising money to develop medicines and research, which are in the pipeline to prolong people’s lives.”
Fiske pointed out that while there may not be a cure, he and St. Bonaventure University (as well as the Salamanca community) keep coming back every year for much bigger reason’s than just a dollar amount. Fiske also said that although they raised over $25,000 through the event itself they continue to raise money throughout the year.
“We have other events throughout the year in what we call wrap around events, and hopefully we can raise that total to 30,000 dollars,” said Fiske.
“My biggest takeaway is that a small community can make a difference,” said Fiske. “I’m not quite sure on the total [amount of money], but it has to be close to $400,000 over the last 11 years.”
The most important thing for Fiske is finding a cure so he can continue to see his nephew grow up.
He said his nephew is going to be in 7th grade thsi year, and he’s a starter on the modified soccer team, and he play’s baseball and basketball at a very competitive level. He’s also looking to take on running track this spring.
“I want him to grow old. I want him to be a grandfather,” Fiske said. “I want to watch him grow old. We’re always going to be looking for ways to extend his life. We’re going to keep raising money until they find that cure.”
hoganm17@bonaventure.edu
