Photo: Matt Shearer / WBZ
BOSTON (WBZ NewsRadio) – A father is walking down the east coast for a good cause.
Chris Brannigan was walking barefoot through the busy streets of Boston to raise awareness for his daughter, who is battling a rare disease. Brannigan said the injuries from his walk are worth it.
“I can choose to stop," he said, "but being able to choose to stop is a luxury Hasti doesn’t have.”
Hasti is Brannigan’s nine-year-old daughter who lives with Cornelia de Lange syndrome (CdLS). It is a rare developmental disorder that affects several parts of the body.
According to the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, symptoms of CdLS include certain facial characteristics, growth delays, intellectual disabilities and limb defects.
While it is unclear how many children have the disorder, the CdLS Foundation estimates the disease appears in approximately one in 10,000 births.
Brannigan came to the United States from the United Kingdom to raise awareness and fund for CdLS research.
He is planning to walk about 1,200 miles Bar Harbor in Maine, to Jacksonville in North Carolina with a backpack on his back and no shoes.
“Hasti tells me that I am walking to get her new medicine,” he said. A GoFundMe page has been set up to help Brannigan collect funds.
While taking occasional breaks and treating himself to a pair of shoes every now and then, Brannigan has not forgotten the true meaning of his pilgrimage.
WBZ's Matt Shearer (@MattWBZ), who met up with Brannigan, has more:
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