A London man is gearing up for a big event to help a little boy very close to his heart.
Bob Facca will be walking thousands of kilometres to raise money to help find a cure for Duchenne muscular dystrophy.
He will be 65 years old come May, while his grandson Louie, who has Duchenne muscular dystrophy is just six years old.
“It’ll be rough, but it’ll be worth the cause. To find a cure, that’s what it’s all about,” he says.
Almost seven months to this day Facca will embark on a walk from Quebec to Winnipeg to raise money for medical research through Jesse's Journey.
In May 2012 Facca walked from Owen Sound to London, but this time the goal is even more ambitious, walking for seven months over a distance of 4,000 kilometres.
He says "The last time we raised over $250,000 and this time we'd like to raise two-and-a-half million."
John Davidson has a special connection with Facca. In 1995 he pushed his son Jesse across Ontario in a wheelchair.
"I often wondered when I was on the road if we'd ever find a grandpa who would pick up the pieces and carry on and hat Bob Facca is about to undertake is a remarkable story in my mind."
The walk will also raise awareness of Duchenne muscular dystrophy, a genetic condition that affects roughly one in every 4,000 to one in 6,000 boys.
Dr. Craig Campbell, director of the Neuromuscular Clinic at Children’s Hospital says there have been great strides in research.
"Although we don't have a treatment yet, it certainly is a huge step forward and a big sense of hope for the whole Duchenne community that we're actually at a point of doing large phase three clinical trials for promising new agents."
Facca is getting in shape with walking and weight training and his wife Wendy Facca has no doubt he'll make it.
"We're grandparents. What wouldn't you do. And whatever it takes we'll do - so that he can walk. Maybe he'll do a fundraising someday walking. Wouldn't that be something.”
