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The 'Our Hike' Weblog
A journey of novice hikers trekking across America on the American Discovery Trail to raise funds and awareness for bone marrow disease.
Read More »Help Gather Pledges for 'Our Hike'
Help Robin & Patty gather up pledges in your local community! Print out the pledge sheet and you can easily help raise hundreds of dollars for Our Hike by asking for pledges from your friends, family members, neighbors, co-workers, classmates and anyone else willing to help!
Download the Pledge Sheet (PDF) »Robin's Mission
“We are on a journey to find a cure, a reason, and a better outlook for bone marrow diseases. Our goal is to raise $1,000,000 for the Aplastic Anemia & MDS International Foundation (AA&MDSIF) to fight bone marrow diseases and fund patient support.
My mom and I want to give back to the AA&MDSIF, because it helped us cope and survive the emotional, mental and physical challenges of my disease, as it does for many others. To spread awareness, promote interest, and raise money to fight bone marrow diseases, we are hiking 5,000+ miles. Each step for me and my mom will be a reminder of how far we have come and a celebration of my overcoming aplastic anemia.
If you don't know the details, here they are: I have decided to hike across the country to raise awareness and research funds for Bone Marrow Disease. Being diagnosed with Aplastic Anemia in 1997, and then being told 7 years later that I am in complete remission changed my life. I decided to do something big -- and I feel very fortunate that I realized this at a young age. So I'm taking advantage of it -- and I'm going to do something big.
The hike is going to take the American Discovery Trail across America. It's more than 5,000 miles long.
And my mom is going to hike by my side the whole way. My dad, Keith, and my hubby, Adam, will be staying back to work while we're trekking the country. How great of these guys to stay back and pay the bills while we do this!! They are such an amazing support team and such a huge part of this! We certainly couldn't do it without them!!
We will start in Delaware and work our way west to California. We will start in February 2006 and end in October 2006. We plan to hike 20 miles/day average. We hope that we can hike 30 if need be. We have a tight schedule to stick to so that we can get through the mountains without getting caught in a snowstorm!
We appreciate all the support and everything you do to help with these little-known illnesses. Someday somebody is going to be diagnosed with aplastic anemia, or MDS, or PNH, and say, ‘Hey! I've heard of that!’ And that in itself is going to make their journey through treatments just a little less scary. They will know right away where they can go for help; and hopefully ‘Our Hike’ will have helped broaden their awareness.
Thank you for time, and thank you for your support!”
~ Thank You!
Robin & Patty