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"

Sunday, March 27, 2011

Back to the woods!

Well, finished the laundry, resupply is done, mailed package home, and ate the biggest cheeseburger I could find. There's nothing left to do but hop back on the A.T. The six mile hike straight up to our campsite on the Swim Bald will be slow as usual after a taste of civilization. There's rain in the forecast but were not to worried. It's just a short three day trip to Fontana Dam for resupply before the formidable Smokie Mountains.
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2 comments:

  1. CourtneyMarch 27, 2011 at 6:04 PM

    Your gonna turn into a cheeseburger! Lol good thing ur doing all that hiking ;)

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  2. UnknownMarch 27, 2011 at 6:32 PM

    You are the shizznit!
    I love the birds in the background of your blog. Counting down the Sundays until you're home... approx. 12 more to go.
    I and LOVE and YOU!

    ReplyDelete

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