Ask any parent, and they will tell you that the worst of all tragedies – the absolute worst – is to experience the death of their child.

It happened to a member of our What’s Up Yukon family last year. Shari and Scott Morash lost their son on the day of his birth … Sarah lost a brother.

Josiah Morash had a rare genetic disorder known at Trisomy 13, or Patau’s Syndrome.

What can you say? What can you do? There is nothing.

And yet, the Morash family found a way to create some good from this profound loss: on Sunday, July 25, Josiah’s Journey 1st Memorial Walk will start from the S.S.Klondike.

On the same day, a walk will take place in London, Ontario, the city where a team of medical professionals were dedicated to giving Josiah every chance he deserved … just as they care for 700 other premature and critically ill infants every year.

It is for them, the good people at the Neo-natal Intensive Care Unit at St. Joseph’s Hospital, that this walk will raise funds for.

Yet, this is not the start of the good things Josiah has brought to this world. From the moment he was diagnosed in utero, he compelled the medical community to understand Patau’s Syndrome just a little more. Through the love of his parents, he forced a new attitude: do not look for the easy way; every life is worth fighting for.

I have been amazed at how committed the Morash family is to educating the general public and the medical community … while dealing with their own challenges at the same time.

Their lessons are not just about the disorder, either, they are about the struggles of families facing this news and the strength we gain from a good, noble fight.

This is why I will be there Sunday morning, manning the snack table and accepting donations. I am taking just a little more of the burden from their shoulders, but, more importantly, I am showing them that Josiah has touched another heart … created just a little more good on this Earth that he was not allowed to enjoy.

Yes, there is valuable work being done in hospitals closer to the Yukon, but I am doing this for Shari, Scott and Sarah.

Were you a customer of Canadian Tire when Scott was working there? Did you meet Shari at Northern Elegance? Are you enjoying her Avant Gardener columns? Then you know the quality of their spirit and you can understand their compulsion to help Josiah, help more and more people.

I hope to see you there, Sunday, July 25, with registration beginning at 9:30 a.m. Make a donation, hear a send-off speech, walk the gorgeous Millennium Trail and come back for a snack.

It is going to be really nice.


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