Rivers man on Winnipeg TV
- Details
- Published on Wednesday, March 21, 2018
By Sheila Runions
Rivers Banner
Readers may be interested to know that Stan Runions of Rivers will be part of Global News’ morning show on Tuesday, March 20. The live episode will air at 7:20 a.m. and will last three or four minutes. The purpose of the interview is to promote Tourette Syndrome (TS), a neurological disorder with which he has lived for nearly 30 years.
A director with Tourette Canada, Winnipeg says Stan volunteered to travel nearly three hours one way, at 4 a.m., for a maximum of four minutes of fame.
“I sent an email out to all members about the interview,” says Julie DeGroot. “Stan volunteered. It will be Stan, along with a mother and her son, who has TS. I have to touch base with Global to see if either myself or another board member can attend too. If not, it'll be just the three of them. The purpose [of the interview] is to raise awareness about TS, to possibly share the role that Tourette Canada plays to help people with TS and their families and to explain the trek, in hopes that people can come out to participate or donate to the cause.”
Trek for Tourette is the only national fundraising event for Tourette Canada; it has been co-ordinated for the past decade. Winnipeg has hosted the five-kilometre family fun run or walk for the last nine years. In that time, they have raised approximately $85,000; this year the goal is $10,000. Considering Tourette Canada, Winnipeg has only 10 members, the goal is a lofty one at $1,000 per member. Stan completed the trek in Rivers last year, walking from town to Wheatland and back; this year he will travel to Winnipeg to participate in the trek on Sunday, March 25.
As stated earlier, TS is a neurological disorder. According to information Julie supplied from Tourette Canada, the disorder is “characterized by involuntary motor and vocal tics such as repetitive eye blinking, throat clearing and head jerking. Movies portray TS as a swearing disease but in fact, only 10 per cent of people diagnosed with TS have this; it is called coprolalia. TS often doesn’t come alone; people with TS may also have ADHD, OCD, anxiety or a learning disability. Currently there is no cure and one in 100 Canadians live with TS.”
Money collected during the trek will be used for further research towards finding a cure. If you would like to support that cause, please contact Stan (204-328-7693) to make a pledge or leave your donation at Rivers Banner.
