ATHENS, Ga. — Former University of Georgia head football coach Mark Richt and his family are fighting a battle against two diseases that have affected their loved ones: Parkinson’s and Crohn’s.
Richt’s granddaughter, Jadyn, was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease as an infant in 2015 and had to go through treatment after treatment.
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But in 2021, Jadyn completed a feeding therapy program with Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, which helped her say goodbye to her feeding tube for good.
The Richt family’s joy and relief over that moment was paused shortly after when the legendary coach was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease that same year.
So now, Richt and his family host the annual Chick-fil-A Dawg Bowl to raise money for the Isakson Center for Neurological Disease Research, where experts search for breakthroughs in both diseases.
Last year, they raised $500,000 and are aiming to raise $700,000 with the next event.
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Richt and his family told Channel 2’s Luke Hetrick that despite being handed adversity, they are continuing to push through.
“When that’s all you know, that’s all you know. You just live life,” he said.
“To feel like you made it through, whatever is coming, whatever is thrown at us, we got this,” his daughter-in-law, Anna Richt, said.
You can donate to the Chick-fil-A Dawg Bowl by clicking here.
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