For 23-year-old Max Creighton, staying healthy has never been an issue.
“I’ve been playing hockey my whole life and been pretty active my whole life,” says Creighton.
So when Creighton was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis in November of 2019, it came as a huge surprise.
“You know it was a huge shock to us especially,” says Creighton’s dad Peter. “I mean the kid used to be a cross country runner, play high-level hockey, high-level soccer, so it was a shock.”
“I’ve always had, what they thought was asthma and some stomach problems and stuff like that,” adds Creighton. “So, it kind of was under the radar and then it just started to get progressively worse and worse.”
After coming to terms with his diagnosis, Creighton wanted to give back to the cystic fibrosis community. Turning to his mountain bike, he hit the trails for a riding fundraiser in honour of Cystic Fibrosis Awareness Month.
“Usually people do a walk for cystic fibrosis just because the walking is just about the most that people can do with Cystic Fibrosis,” says Creighton. “Fortunately for myself, I’m pretty lucky with this disease and can kind of handle more overload of the lungs and stuff like that.”
Creighton has already started racking up kilometres on his way to completing his goal of riding 200 kilometres by the end of May.
The support from the community has been overwhelming. Creighton’s GoFundMe pages has already raised over $10,000 for Cystic Fibrosis Canada.
“Originally, I set the goal as $2,500 and in the first day we hit that right away just sharing it on Facebook and Instagram to all my followers and really been blown away by everyone’s support with this,” smiles Creighton.
“It’s amazing, like some of his old teammates from when he was 12 years old are donating $50 to $100,” says Peter.
To donate to Creighton’s ride, visit his GoFundMe page.
Cole Sorenson
