Gee-Gee high-jumper helps fellow kidney disease patients get active with Alive to Strive races
By Dan Plouffe
For Marie-Eve Chainey, watching a dozen dialysis patients complete the one- and five- kilometer courses at the race she organized was a priceless moment. Seeing other kidney disease patients sharing, and living, the secret to her stable health and “mostly normal” lifestyle – physical activity – provided the Gee-Gee high-jumper’s major highlight at the Alive to Strive event Sunday, August 14.
“It was amazing,” smiles Chainey, who’s been on dialysis for almost a decade since staring down death at age 19 when her kidneys suddenly failed. “You have to think that some of them weren’t even able to walk that far before. If you actually take that challenge and do it – we had a dialysis patient that did the 5k and did very well – that’s what makes the event. That’s the reason we have it.”
“It was awesome to see our vision come true.”
The inaugural races netted $7,000 for Chainey’s recently created non-profit, the Alive to Strive Kidney Fitness Project, which promotes an active lifestyle among kidney disease patients by providing them with fitness grants and weight-loss programs. Race participants also raised around $1,000 for charities that volunteered to help out along the course – the Canadian Diabetes Association, the Kidney Foundation of Canada and the Ottawa Hospital’s uOttawa-affiliated Kidney Research Centre.
Several other Gee-Gees came out to race, including Kyle Mackie, who placed sixth overall in the 10k and second in his age group. “It was awesome to see everyone giving their all, runners having a big smile at the finish line, and hearing them say it went well and was well organized,” says Chainey, who worked on the event almost every day since early March along with Alive to Strive vice-president Nicholas Newell. “It was definitely fulfilling.”
Back to the track… and school
Chainey wrapped up her summertime high-jump training roughly a week before the races, but she’ll be back in action come the start of her varsity track-and-field campaign. This could be the nursing student’s final season as a Gee-Gee, although that’s a little up in the air since she had a scheduled operation to remove her non-functional kidneys cancelled at the last minute earlier this year.
“As long as my health holds up, I should be graduating in May 2012,” notes Chainey, who received overnight dialysis treatments at the hospital and then woke up to help patients during her nursing placement. “It’s been eight years now, so it will be nice to finally have a degree under my belt.”
Comments (1)
Amazing! Marie-Eve I have shared this on Facebook because I saw it on your page and you are an inspiration to me! Thanks for all you do! You go beyond what so many others have done! Thank you! <3
By Angie on 2011 09 05