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"

Wednesday, July 20, 2011

Work for stay

Well we hiked all of 3 miles today and then we got a little sidetracked. The trail was leading us around a beautiful pond with mountains rising above us on all sides when we came across a sign reading "Mountain Meadows Lodge." A couple hundred yards up a freshly mowed lawn stood a large red lodge. It seemed quite inviting so we took a closer look. We found the check-in desk vacant so we ventured deeper into the dining room were a very nice girl sold us a cold coke and offered us breakfast leftovers which we kindly excepted. At this point we began wondering what it would feel like to spend the day in this wonderful utopia. I introduced myself to Dave, the groundskeeper, and inquired about the possibility of doing work in exchange for lodging. It took a little persuading but in no time at all Dave was escorting us to our room. Three beds, television, a private bath and a view of the lake! After dropping our bags he handed us paint brushes and caulking guns and put us to work. We put a fresh coat of paint around the trim outside and sealed the huge windows over looking the lake. We worked diligently as a family of loons called from the lake behind us. It was a strange feeling to be preforming manual labor for the first time in four months but i was grinning ear to ear. 3 hours of rewarding labor before relaxing poolside.
After a huge spaghetti dinner I found a cozy hammock and watched the sun set. Vermont my be my favorite state yet.
Posted by at

3 comments:

  1. A.July 21, 2011 at 7:01 AM

    You have me sold on Vermont. It seems so magical and I envy you all. Best wishes for a safe finish and return home.
    -- Amy Ellis

    ReplyDelete
  2. Chuck JohnsonJuly 21, 2011 at 8:31 AM

    Darn, I knew I should have had you guys replace the deck at the camp!!! :-)

    ReplyDelete
  3. CourtneyJuly 21, 2011 at 2:39 PM

    Sounds awesome!! Glad someone put u to work!! Jk keep on truckin bro!! Love ya!!

    ReplyDelete

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)