Walk Day

Today was the day for the 2007 Walk for PKD! Although the weather wasn't great, it wasn't too bad either. It rained a little, but never very hard, and the sun even tried to peek out a few times near the end. This year, they sold pinwheels to honor those who are either living with PKD or who have passed away due to it. We bought several in honor of Jeanne. Here's Brian blowing on them trying to make them turn:

Then, while we were waiting for the walk to start, we got our official Team Teddy Bear 2007 picture taken:

Heidi kicked things off by thanking lots of people for their participation and sponsorship. But, really, she's the one who deserves the thanks. As both the Hudson Valley Chapter Coordinator and the Coordinator of the Hudson Valley Walk for PKD, if it wasn't for her hard work and dedication, none of this would be possible. The walk got off to a great start

We managed to keep up with the crowd for a while

but then starting falling further behind

until it basically became just us, taking up the rear, with noone in sight in front of us

Then right at the end, we caught up to Sean and Josh's family, passed them and managed to NOT be the last ones back! Sean, who is 3, got the prize for youngest walker. Brian and Jason shared second prize in that category. Although, to be honest, Jason gave up for a bit about 2/3 of the way through, and Brian had a minor meltdown about 100 yards from the finish.

Posted along the route were a bunch of informational signs related to PKD.

The one I found most intruiging was this one:


It facts like this that really motivate me to do things like participate in the walk and put this blog together to try to spread the work about PKD. Why such a large disparity?

There also were a bunch of signs naming sections of the walk route in honor of last year's top fundraisers. I thought that was a nice touch.





Once back at the pavilion, we enjoyed a nice lunch provided almost exclusively by donations from local businesses. Some awards were handed out recognizing top fundraisers for this year. TJ and I were both recognized this year for our fundraising efforts - we must, however, share that honor with all of you who supported us!





















It was a really great time for all of us. It's a chance to come together for a good cause and meet people who have been dealing with PKD in one way or another and to share experiences. We're already looking forward to next year! And, to all of you who helped Team Teddy Bear raise more that $5000 this year, I leave you with this: