Amyloidosis‏

In 2007 my father, Dennis Blake, was diagnosed with a rare blood disease, Amyloidosis. After years of battling the disease, the correct diagnosis was finally given less then a week before he passed. Amyloidosis is a rare blood disease that can affect one or more organs when abnormal deposits of the amyloid protein are produced. It is debilitating and life threatening. The disease meant nothing to my family weeks before we first heard the word, and then it defined the rest of our lives. It is only in the last 25 years that physicians have started to understand the disease. I have been hiking the Appalachian trail for a little more then a month. Hiking 8 to 12 hours a day, I have had plenty of time to think of my father and what kind of differences I could make in his name. I would love to make this epic adventure about more then myself. The amyloidosis foundation's mission is to increase education and awareness in hopes that it will lead to earlier diagnosis and improved treatment. My goal is to raise $1,000 in the name of my father. I have roughly 200 miles left. Just one penny per mile adds up to $20 when I complete the trail of 2,000 miles. If anybody would like to donate a small amount per every mile I complete, then I am confident that I can reach my goal. Here are the directions and the page link for the donations: Check "In memory of" and add my father's name "Dennis Blake"

Thursday, July 7, 2011

Connecticut

20 miles up, down and across Connecticut yesterday. I was Drenched in sweat and lacking energy all day. I arrived at the Pine Swamp shelter just before dark completely exhausted. The mosquitoes ravaged me as I prepared my gourmet ramen dinner. They were relentless. The skeeters laughed at our bug spray. When dinner was finished i was too lazy and tired to throw up my hammock. I had just enough energy to crawl into the shelter and enter "cocoon" mode. My micro fleece sleeping bag liner fits me so that I'm able to pull the bag completely around my head. All night the mosquitoes dive bombed my head and buzz around my ears. I fell asleep to the sounds of my hiking companions cursing and swatting the evil blood suckers.
This morning I awoke early with big miles on the agenda. Still damp and sticky from the previous days work. I'm immediately greeted by a swarm of gnats and mosquitoes that surrounded my face. If you can picture Pigpen from Charlie Brown, you have a good idea of what the cloud of bugs looked like. Im fairly certain I swallowed a few while trying to eat my breakfast. Extra calories I guess. I was hiking by 6:30 a.m. and drenched in sweat by 6:35. No worries though. Bluegrass, Sabertooth, Squirrel and I are spending the weekend with my Uncle Chuck and Aunt Charlie. I may finally be able to taste some of Chucks famous margaritas.

Crossing into Massachusetts tomorrow morning.

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