John Davidson hits the road again to honour Jesse’s Journey

John Davidson is planning to walk from St. Thomas to London in honour of the 30th anniversary of Jesse’s Journey. CTV’s Lauren Stallone reports.

In honour of the 30th anniversary of Jesse’s Journey, now known as Defeat Duchenne Canada, founder John Davidson will once again take to the road in a tribute to his late son Jesse.

In 1986, Jesse was diagnosed with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, a severe neuromuscular disease.

“I can tell you the first thing you do is cry and there’s nothing wrong with that,” he said. “After that you start to see what you can do to make a difference.”

Davidson said he was determined to defeat Duchenne one step at a time.

“In 1995, I pushed Jesse across Ontario in his wheelchair to raise money for research into finding a treatment and eventually a cure for Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy,” said Davidson.

Davidson continued that journey in 1998 when he walked across Canada from St. Johns, Newfoundland to Victoria, B.C.

“I did 33 km a day for 286 days,” said Davidson.

On June 10, Davidson will walk 30 km from the Jumbo the Elephant Monument in St. Thomas to Victoria Park in London, retracing the historic route he and Jesse completed in 1995.

“I’m doing that to honour Jesse and all that he did to put an end to this because warriors are lost every day,” said Davidson.

Defeat Duchenne Canada has granted more than $ 18.6 million towards research projects, improved treatments, and the pursuit of a cure.

“When you look in the mirror and you say what you wouldn’t do for your kids, that’s when you get busy and that’s exactly what we did,” said Davidson.

The community is invited to join John along the route to cheer him on.