Walk Day 2010

Yesterday was the 2010 Hudson Valley Walk for PKD and it couldn't have been a more perfect day. The weather was beautiful and the event went very well. It's always a very special day, but I truly think this year was the best one yet!

Jeanne wasn't yet up to walking anywhere near the 2 1/2 miles the walk goes, but she did feel good enough to come along to the event. She helped out by sitting at the chapter information table. Considering where she was just a couple of weeks ago, this was quite an achievement.

Missed were Kirsten and Luke of "Luke's team" who have moved off to Massachusetts in the past year. Their team was always on of the top fundraising teams and Kirsten was always very involved in the chapter planning activities. Luke is a wonderful boy who received a transplant due to ARPKD a couple of years ago.

Missed also was Bennie Newman, Diane and Chuck's father, who unfortunately passed away earlier this year due to complications from PKD.

Michelle and her Three Peas in a Pod team are always fantastic fundraisers, but this year they outdid themselves, raising over $20,000!!!!! As usual, Michelle ran a fantastic raffle and silent auction as well. Her dedication to raising funds to fight this disease and her willingness to reach out and provide support to other parents of children with ARPKD is admirable and inspirational.

It was great to talk with Wayne Grossman, just a few weeks removed from surgery to repair a brain aneurysm, which I have just recently learned is another complication that can come along with PKD. He appears to be doing fantastic.

TJ won a couple of awards - one for top youth fundraiser and the other for most creative youth web page. On top of that, he used his amateur radio skills to lead the walk and help provide communications in case anyone needed to make a call for help.

Traci Sinapi also won an award for her web page. Reading about her mom reminds me a lot of how Jeanne has handled living with this disease.

Brain and Jason got some recognition for their fundraising as well. The highlight of the day for them was getting their faces painted. Jason was a tiger and Brian was a puppy dog.

It was great having my sister Cindy, my nephew Brandon and my nieces Freya and Diana join us at the walk for the first time this year. Along with the veteran Team Teddy Bear walkers, it gave us our biggest team ever!

But, the highlight of the event for me was a surprise visit from my Uncle Marty, Aunt Lyn and cousin Caty who drove in nearly three hours from Woodstock, Connecticut to walk with us!