My Xtreme Hike Story
Erin Stanford
Fundraising for North Carolina Fall Xtreme Hike
Erin Stanford
On October 11th I will hike 30.1 miles along the Appalachian Trail from Winding Stair Gap to the Nantahala Outdoor Center (NOC). I will do this along with several other people as part of a fundraiser for The Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. I will hike the 30.1 miles in one day.
Last year I had signed up to do this, not even owning a pair of hiking boots. Unfortunately, the “real” Xtreme Hike had to be cancelled after the devastating hurricane damage in Western North Carolina. In lieu of this, we did an “urban hike” in Charlotte. While it was not the same thing as doing it in the mountains, walking for 9 hours straight on asphalt was much more challenging than I imagined. I am sure that this 30.1 mile hike in the mountains will prove to be even more challenging.
I am hiking in support of my 11 year old daughter, Kennedy, and all of those with Cystic Fibrosis. Cystic Fibrosis is a life-long, genetic disease that has no cure. Kennedy was officially diagnosed with it when she was 3 weeks old. While she has had to endure a few hospital stays, we have been extremely lucky that she was born at a time with such amazing medical innovation going on! Kennedy started Trikafta, which was referred to as a “game changing” medication in 2011 . Since starting this her lung function increased dramatically (over 20%!). Kennedy also started doing injections every 2 weeks which greatly reduced how often she was having to be prescribed prednisone- so much so that they used her in part of a case study for the medication. While we have been very lucky with Kennedy’s health, she also has to put in a lot of work to stay healthy. Kennedy does a medical device called a vest, which shakes her to loosen mucus in her lungs, for 30 minutes every day. Kennedy also takes several pills a day and must do breathing treatments every day as well. She will do these things every day, for the rest of her life unless further advancements are made or a cure is found.
Since Kennedy’s diagnosis, Team Kure for Kennedy has been able to raise over $225,000 for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation to help find such a cure. We hope that you will consider supporting our fundraising efforts this year as I embark on this Xtreme Hike.
We invite you to take part in Xtreme Hike by joining our team. We promise, you belong here! This event promises to be a fun-filled day where you can help advance the care and research needed to cure cystic fibrosis. By hiking with us, you’ll enjoy not only the natural camaraderie (yes, lots of laughter!), but the important impact we are making together.
While the CF Foundation has made incredible progress, not everyone with CF can benefit from existing therapies and we still need a cure. This will require time, funding, and persistence – but with you on our team – we are ready to go the distance.
Last year I had signed up to do this, not even owning a pair of hiking boots. Unfortunately, the “real” Xtreme Hike had to be cancelled after the devastating hurricane damage in Western North Carolina. In lieu of this, we did an “urban hike” in Charlotte. While it was not the same thing as doing it in the mountains, walking for 9 hours straight on asphalt was much more challenging than I imagined. I am sure that this 30.1 mile hike in the mountains will prove to be even more challenging.
I am hiking in support of my 11 year old daughter, Kennedy, and all of those with Cystic Fibrosis. Cystic Fibrosis is a life-long, genetic disease that has no cure. Kennedy was officially diagnosed with it when she was 3 weeks old. While she has had to endure a few hospital stays, we have been extremely lucky that she was born at a time with such amazing medical innovation going on! Kennedy started Trikafta, which was referred to as a “game changing” medication in 2011 . Since starting this her lung function increased dramatically (over 20%!). Kennedy also started doing injections every 2 weeks which greatly reduced how often she was having to be prescribed prednisone- so much so that they used her in part of a case study for the medication. While we have been very lucky with Kennedy’s health, she also has to put in a lot of work to stay healthy. Kennedy does a medical device called a vest, which shakes her to loosen mucus in her lungs, for 30 minutes every day. Kennedy also takes several pills a day and must do breathing treatments every day as well. She will do these things every day, for the rest of her life unless further advancements are made or a cure is found.
Since Kennedy’s diagnosis, Team Kure for Kennedy has been able to raise over $225,000 for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation to help find such a cure. We hope that you will consider supporting our fundraising efforts this year as I embark on this Xtreme Hike.
We invite you to take part in Xtreme Hike by joining our team. We promise, you belong here! This event promises to be a fun-filled day where you can help advance the care and research needed to cure cystic fibrosis. By hiking with us, you’ll enjoy not only the natural camaraderie (yes, lots of laughter!), but the important impact we are making together.
While the CF Foundation has made incredible progress, not everyone with CF can benefit from existing therapies and we still need a cure. This will require time, funding, and persistence – but with you on our team – we are ready to go the distance.
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