Christian Darrosé, President and Founder of the French organization Je roule pour l’AVC (I Drive for Strokes) is gearing up for a trans-Canada expedition. Beginning May 15, Christian, who lost both his mother and his brother to strokes, will drive 8,000 across Canada, from Vancouver, British Columbia to Saint John’s, Newfoundland. During his 90-day solo voyage, he will stop in 77 cities across the country to tell as many Canadians as possible about the warning signs of a stroke.
Christian is a roadworthiness inspector and a serious car aficionado. He will do the entire coast-to-coast trek alone in his car, a Citroën Cloverleaf built in 1923. “This is truly a mechanical, logistical, and human endeavour, but the real challenge is to raise awareness among as many Canadians as possible about the risk of strokes.” Many people know about strokes, but few know what to do when a stroke occurs,” Christian explained. “In Canada, heart disease and stroke are two of the top three leading causes of deathi. By learning about the warning signs, we can react more quickly and improve these statistics.”
“Heart disease and stroke continue to take a life every seven minutes in Canada, and the repercussions are severe for the lives of the victims and their families,” added Yves Savoie, CEO of the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada. “We are proud to support Christian in his trans-Canadian journey to raise awareness and promote healthy habits.”
All along the way, Christian will meet with local and regional prevention associations and take part in activities where he will tell his story and help teach people how to recognize the warning signs of stroke. He will meet with families, elected officials, and social and cultural personalities whose lives have been affected by strokes.
Events are planned for the following cities:
June 8, 2018 Kickoff: Vancouver, British Columbia
June 15, 2018 Calgary, Alberta
June 24, 2018 Regina, Saskatchewan
June 29, 2018 Winnipeg, Manitoba
July 20, 2018 Montréal, Québec
July 21, 2018 Ottawa, Ontario
July 28, 2018 Québec City, Québec
August 24, 2018 End of Tour: St. John’s, Newfoundland
All the donations collected during the trip will go to the Heart and Stroke Foundation.
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