‘It’s time for us to go to work’: John Davidson makes a last walk, but says the journey will continue

John Davidson walked from St. Thomas to London to honour the 30th anniversary of Jesse’s Journey. CTV’s Gerry Dewan was there.

A last walk, but the journey continues.

On Tuesday, John Davidson marked the 30th anniversary of his Jesse’s Journey Walk across Ontario with a 30 kilometer walk from St. Thomas to London.

Supporters gathered at the Jumbo the elephant monument in St. Thomas to commemorate the anniversary.

It was May 20, 1995, that John Davidson and his 15-year-old son Jesse started their inspirational 124-day trek from the Manitoba border, across Ontario, to Ottawa.

Peter Garland, past board president of Jesse’s Journey charity, recounted the effort during a short ceremony, “There’s a father and his son moving people to tears, going down the highway, never stopping.”

Jesse was six when he was diagnosed with Duchenne muscular dystrophy, a fatal genetic disorder affecting one in 5,000 boys. Jesse’s parents and friends committed to raising funds to help find treatments and, eventually, a cure.

On this day John Davidson was walking from St. Thomas to Victoria Park in London.

Davidson, just shy of his 80th birthday, told the gathering in St. Thomas that this will be the last walk he will make on behalf of the cause, which has meant so much to himself and so many others. But he stressed that his advocacy would continue.

He told CTV News the focus now is getting approvals for medications that are available in other countries, but not in Canada, “The drugs are not going to reverse Duchenne muscular dystrophy, but they will slow it down tremendously to change your quality of life.”

The drugs are available in the United States, the United Kingdom, and the European Union.

Anna Vockeroth’s son Spencer was diagnosed with Duchenne muscular dystrophy last year, shortly after he turned five.

She’s anxious to get access to the emerging treatment, “I’m hearing about it. I read about it, and I’m in all of the groups. We don’t have a lot here yet.”

Vockeroth said prior to Spencer’s diagnosis, that his stumbles and falls were signs of something more serious. She trusted her instincts and pressed for extensive testing.

Now she’s trusting her instincts again, “Just as I felt it in my gut, that there is something wrong with him, I feel like there’s something better coming, and soon.”

St. Thomas Mayor Joe Preston, a former MP, said he will join Davidson’s lobbying effort, “Canada needs to be in first place; never not. John recognized that. In his heart, and with Jesse in his mind, he makes sure that happens.”

According to Davidson, “It’s time for us to go to work on this and find a way to get those here to make a difference in the lives of all those boys, some of whom are here this morning. They’re just like Jesse at that age and that’s why I’m on the road one last time.”

Jesse’s Journey now operates as Defeat Duchenne Canada and has contributed more than $19 million to research.