Chris Sadleir with his parents (Photo provided by Chris Sadleir)

By Justin Goulet

Walk to Breathe

Alberta man walking from Lethbridge to Edmonton in support of Lung Association

Apr 18, 2021 | 8:30 AM

LETHBRIDGE, AB – An Alberta man is taking a 500 kilometre-plus walk this summer.

For the second straight year, Edmonton’s Chris Sadleir is embarking on the Walk to Breathe, an initiative aimed at raising funds and awareness for the Lung Association of Alberta & Northwest Territories.

In August 2020, Sadleir walked an 11-day, 330-kilometre trek from Calgary to Edmonton. His goal was to raise $22,000 to support people dealing with lung disease.

The initial $22,000 had some added symbolism, with Sadleir explaining that the average human being takes 22,000 breaths per day. That goal was surpassed by over $10,000 to $33,000 raised.

This year, the 46-year-old will be expanding his journey to walk from Lethbridge to Edmonton with a goal of raising $50,000.

Nighttime construction on Hwy 3 in Lethbridge starts April 17

Apr 17, 2025

SASHA launches #BuyABed fundraiser to support vulnerable Lethbridge residents

Apr 04, 2025

$20K grants available: TELUS STORYHIVE Pan-Asian Edition opens applications April 1

Mar 18, 2025

This summer’s Walk to Breathe will start July 7 in Lethbridge and conclude on July 23 in Edmonton, which is five years to the day Sadleir’s father received a life-saving lung transplant.

He explained that his father “had idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, which is essentially a scarring of the lungs and there’s no known cause for it and there’s certainly no cure, so he needed a double lung transplant.”

“He was suffering from that for a few years, struggling to breathe for a few years before that even happened.”

Sadleir explained that not only did his father’s condition have a physical, emotional and mental challenge on him, but it also greatly affected his entire family.

“People don’t realize the far-reaching effects that it has for the entire family as well, just the financial toll and the emotional toll. My mom was an absolute rock-star through the whole thing, sort of keeping the family all together. It just became very close to my heart, so that was the inspiration. I thought, I want to take my casual walking to another level.”

Following his father’s health situation, Sadleir did some research and became involved with the Lung Association. He said some of the statistics on lung conditions came as a shock.

“One in five Albertans in their lifetime will be affected by some form of lung disease – not to mention all of their family and everyone that has to go through that with them, so it’s absolutely devastating.”

He added that in Canada, chronic respiratory conditions rank among the top for mortality rates.

Sadleir noted that, “unfortunately, here in Alberta, it receives less than one-third of the government funding that it needs, so we need to raise that awareness. We need to raise the funds.”

“We got to let people know that this is something that affects younger, older, healthy [people] – everybody across the province and Northwest Territories.”

AN IMPORTANT MESSAGE

Sadleir said that, “every 15 minutes, someone dies of lung disease. [It’s the] third leading cause of death in Canadians and very high with Albertans.”

“Unfortunately, Indigenous people, especially Indigenous children [are] disproportionality affected by respiratory infections.”

He remarked that it’s frustrating, because many people associate lung disease with smoking.

“That’s such a narrow scope. People don’t even realize what falls under the Lung Association umbrella. For example, asthma in babies [and young children]. This is not an old smoker’s disease. This is young children struggling to breathe. Sleep apnea [another example] – I suffer from a little sleep apnea, and that can become very deadly if not treated.”

The logo for this year’s walk (Photo provided by Chris Sadleir)

Sadleir also listed cystic fibrosis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and pneumonia as other illnesses that fall under the Lung Association portfolio.

“Now you can see why it’s so far-reaching, affecting so many people yet it’s grossly underfunded. That’s really what we’re trying to do is raise that awareness, raise some funds.”

The Albertan added he is not “looking for the accolades” to be the face of the cause, but he’s just trying to help out a cause that is very important to him.

COVID-19

When asked about the impacts COVID-19 has had on those with lung conditions, Sadleir remarked that, “at the end of the day, COVID is a respiratory disease, so that’s why it falls under the Lung Association.”

“That’s not why we started the work, it just happened to be part of the timing for it. Unfortunately, in early March, a very dear member of our family passed away as a result of respiratory ailments. They were in the hospital for over a month with COVID and ultimately never recuperated with the infections and whatnot, so that sort of took it to a whole different level as well.”

“COVID definitely plays into it, but again, everything that falls under it is just so far-reaching.”

WEALTH OF SUPPORT

During the Edmonton man’s trek last summer, he was supported by his parents, who drove behind him in an RV. Unfortunately, they will not be able to follow Sadleir for the full walk this year as his mother is battling cancer.

However, Sadleir said, “they’re going to definitely be there throughout the journey, so everything that made it successful and special, everything that I was hoping it would be last year and ultimately did become is going to happen again this year, just longer, further and a little bit more gruelling.”

He added that he’ll try to get his parents’ likeness on his support RV this summer.

Sadleir during last summer’s walk (Photos provided by Chris Sadleir)

“The support vehicle is just integral for us. Last year, we had Carefree RV, they’re province wide. If we don’t have a support vehicle for rest, relaxation, recuperation, I can ice my feet and bandage and everything like that. It’s just very important to have that stuff, so we will have drivers. My parents will join us along the way; it just won’t be the full 17-day journey.”

Sadleir said vehicle dealer House of Cars has come on board for the Walk to Breathe this year.

He stated that, “they came on board, and what’s awesome about this, is with their support, it enables us to ensure that all donations that come into our donation page go to the Lung Association.”

“So, it’s the Walk to Breathe driven by House of Cars this year. We thought it had a nice ring to it, it’s a nice Alberta tie-in, they’re a great company that’s come on board and really believe what we’re doing and it’s helping us to ensure that the maximum amount of funds that are donated go towards the charity, so we’re thrilled to have them on board.”

CONNECT WITH CHRIS

Anyone looking to find out more about Sadleir’s journey and who wants to donate can do so here.

He said, “we hope to encourage people to also reach out to their friends, their family, get their workplace involved – maybe it’s a fundraiser through the office.”

Those wishing to follow Chris Sadleir throughout the walk, which starts July 7, can do so by following him on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

For local news delivered daily to your email inbox, subscribe for free to the Lethbridge News Now newsletter here. You can also download the Lethbridge News Now mobile app in the Google Play and the Apple App Stores.