CLARION, Pa. (EYT) – Friends of Christian is planning their upcoming benefit event, and it is seeking a recipient.
The group will hold its Sixth Annual Benefit Poker Run and Pig Roast on July 22.
It is currently seeking candidates to be this year’s recipient.
The group is looking for a family with a child or children, birth to 18 years old that has a chronic or terminal illness, currently residing in Clarion, Venango or Jefferson counties.
For those who want to nominate someone, message them at www.facebook.com/FriendsOfChristian/ or email them at friendsofchristian@yahoo.com.
It all began in 2013 when the group was formed to do a fundraiser for a Knox area youth, Christian Burgdorfer, pictured above, who has battled Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS).
For those dealing with POTS, a person’s blood stays in the lower part of the body when the person stands up. It makes the heart beat faster to try to get blood to the brain and it can make a person’s blood pressure drop significantly.
According to webmd.com, orthostatic intolerance is the most common symptom of POTS. When the heart has to work too hard and the blood pressure falls, that can throw other body functions off balance.
People may feel dizzy or faint, have blurred vision, feel nauseous or shaky, throw up, sweat a lot or have brain fog.
Feeling extremely tired is a symptom, too. Easy tasks can make a person feel like they’ve just run a long race or are coming down with the flu.
Other symptoms can include chest pain, feeling anxious, nervous or jittery, headaches (migraines) and neck pain, insomnia diarrhea or constipation.
But Burgdorfer overcame it to graduate Keystone High School in 2017.
For last year’s event, the ride raised about $4,000 for the family of D.J. Graham, a seventh-month old boy who was born with heart defects.
“There are so many expenses that aren’t covered by insurance, so we are grateful we can do these rides to help out families in need,” Friends of Christian president Michelle Wright said.
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