Massachusetts Hydrocephalus Awareness Walk & Run Slated for Sept. 24

EASTHAMPTON — The public is invited to join the Massachusetts Chapter of the Pediatric Hydrocephalus Foundation, as well as Bella Sacharczyk, who is living with the disease, for the 2022 Massachusetts Hydrocephalus Awareness Walk & Run. Sacharczyk’s mission is to raise awareness and money to fund research projects.

The event will take place on Saturday, Sept. 24 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Millside Park, 2 Ferry St., Easthampton.

After enduring 23 brain surgeries and countless hours of physical therapy to learn to walk again, Sacharczyk just graduated from high school with honors, with a 3.94 average. She also received five scholarships. She is planning on going into the biology program at Holyoke Community College and then will attend UMass Amherst to work toward a PhD in medical research. She wants to someday work at Boston Children’s Hospital, which is doing research on the brain condition she battles every day.

The Pediatric Hydrocephalus Foundation, an all-volunteer nonprofit 501(c)(3) charitable organization, educates the community by raising the level of awareness about hydrocephalus and provides support to families, friends, and children affected by this brain condition.