CORNWALL, Ontario – Welch LLP welcomed friends and clients to the Nav Centre on Saturday, Nov. 17 to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the firm and to help fight Cystic Fibrosis (CF).
“The primary reason for our event is to treat our clients and friends of the firm. We’re giving back to our clients and we wanted to give back to our community,” said Al Gravelle, Managing partner of the local office of Welch LLP.
Guests of the event had an opportunity to buy mystery envelopes that contained prizes. Proceeds from the sale of the envelopes went to the CF research and support, as did the sale of raffle tickets for prizes that were given out later in the night and guests were encouraged to donate to the cause online.
One of the guests of the event was Myles Lynch. Lynch had worked at Welch LLP as a co-op student in high school. When he was just a few weeks old, Lynch was diagnosed with CF. He served as an ambassador for the cause of fighting CF at the event.
Over the course of his life, Lynch has already had two lung transplant surgeries and is eligible for a third, a first in Canada.
Lynch explained the hard effort it takes for him to fight the disease.
“It is an intensive amount of treatment and physio to maintain my lung function,” Lynch said. “It takes up your whole day when your lung function is at 30 percent.”
As a part of that work to maintain his health, Lynch must eat 3,000 calories a day to keep up his body mass.
Lynch was first placed on the transplant list in 2014. After his first surgery, Lynch began to show signs of rejection, necessitating the second transplant. Today, Lynch is working hard to keep his lungs as strong as he can to keep a third transplant from becoming necessary for as long as possible.
All told, Welch had raised $8,500 before the event even began. By the time the night was done, over $11,000 was raised for the fight against CF.
