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"

Monday, June 27, 2011

New Jersey




   I left Pennsylvania behind on Friday and couldn't have been happier. We averaged 19 miles a day thru the state(my least favorite so far) The rocky terrain hasn't ended yet but it's getting easier. Water sources are still few and far between, but I'm happy to be checking off states.
  We spent an extra day in Delaware water gap(PA-NJ border) so that Bluegrass could heal his feet. Blue started breaking in a new pair of boots back at harpers ferry 250 miles back. They caused lots of blisters and he even lost a toe nail. It's not unusual to have lots of trouble breaking in new boots but when his blisters started showing signs of infection he knew it was time for a break.  After the zero in DWG we hiked across the Delaware river and 35 miles into NJ where my girlfriend picked us up for some downtime in Branchville, NJ. We all spent a nice weekend at the forest motel which bore a striking resemblance to the Bates Hotel from the classic movie Psycho. Jamie didn't complain even though the smell from my feet lingered in the room all weekend. They smell terrible even after numerous scrub downs.
  Sunday it was back to work. I left Jamie behind at the trail head and hiked into the hills again. This next run will take us into New York and over the Hudson River. From here on the mountains will be getting progressively harder until Maine. I'm looking forward to the new challenges ahead. 850 miles to go!
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1 comment:

  1. CharliJune 27, 2011 at 7:07 PM

    Way to go Matt!! You are doing an awesome job and getting that much closer to Mass. We will definitely meet you and bring a cookout with us! Maybe we can get Uncle Chuck to smoke ribs or a pork butt or both. Let us know what you all like.
    Luv you and miss you, can't wait to see you up our way. Please plan on spending some time with us when the trail ends.

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