On May 21, Surrey parents Dr. Stalin Gill and Dr. Navpreet Gill will begin a 120-kilometre walk from Vancouver’s Canada Place to the BC Legislative Building in Victoria. Over five days, they will walk not only as parents, but as two people refusing to give up on their three-year-old son, Gurmoh battling a rare disease.

Gurmoh is battling Spastic Paraplegia 4 (SPG4) -R499H a rare and progressive neurodegenerative disease that will eventually take away his ability to walk, stand, sit, speak, eat, use arms, move and cognitive ability. While provincial funding was denied, a team of leading genetic scientists at McGill University stepped forward to develop a personalized, one-time gene therapy designed specifically for him. This one time gene therapy will cure the disease at its root cause and give Gurmoh a normal life. The science is ready. What remains is raising the final $700,000 of the urgent initial goal of $2.7million.

Through community support, radiothons, and public fundraising, the family has already raised most of the $2.7 million urgently required. This walk is their final push to turn hope into action and bring Gurmoh closer to a future where he can keep walking, playing, and growing up like every child deserves.

“We are walking because our son deserves a chance at life before this disease steals it from him,” said Gurmoh’s mother, Dr. Navpreet Gill. “Every kilometre is for Gurmoh and for every family fighting a rare disease without support. We invite people across British Columbia to walk beside us, meet us along the way, or stand with us at the Legislature.”