Everest to End Duchenne
Donation protected
In October 2017, The Hope for Gus Foundation will take a team of dedicated and enthusiastic people (which I am one of) on a 20-day trip to Nepal to trek to Mount Everest Base Camp. The team is made up of people who either have a child who suffers from Duchenne muscular dystrophy or who hold the cause close to their heart. Our team will trek to the Everest Base Camp to raise awareness of Duchenne and to raise money for research. As co-founder of The Hope for Gus Foundation, Steve Dreher says, “We hike because our children can’t. We use these hikes to raise funds and awareness of this devastating disease. Our Everest team will embark on a 17-day, 80-mile trek from Lukla to the Everest Base Camp on the Khumbu Glacier in Nepal. We take the names and pictures of children with this disease to the highest peaks in the world. We will not stop until we have saved this generation.”
What is Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy? Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, like all muscular dystrophies, causes weakening of the muscles. DMD is a recessive genetic mutation that occurs on the X chromosome. As a result, it almost exclusively affects boys. Unfortunately for the boys who have been diagnosed with DMD, it is the most severe of all the muscular dystrophies. Boys with this disease are diagnosed earlier, usually between 3 and 5 years of age. They lose muscle function more quickly and many boys are in wheelchairs by 10-12 years of age. Those affected die earlier, most boy’s with DMD die in their mid 20’s.
We are focused on bringing other parents of boys with Duchenne on this trek (but others also!), because this journey is symbolic for us. As boys with DMD lose their ability to walk, we will take on a difficult walk FOR THEM, and raise money for medical research at the same time. All of the proceeds of this epic journey will be donated to the most promising research through the Hope for Gus foundation, which will choose one very promising therapy to fund through the Duchenne Alliance.
Every step we take up to Everest Base Camp will be for all boys with Duchenne. Please support this effort if you can and many thanks for taking this journey with us.
What is Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy? Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, like all muscular dystrophies, causes weakening of the muscles. DMD is a recessive genetic mutation that occurs on the X chromosome. As a result, it almost exclusively affects boys. Unfortunately for the boys who have been diagnosed with DMD, it is the most severe of all the muscular dystrophies. Boys with this disease are diagnosed earlier, usually between 3 and 5 years of age. They lose muscle function more quickly and many boys are in wheelchairs by 10-12 years of age. Those affected die earlier, most boy’s with DMD die in their mid 20’s.
We are focused on bringing other parents of boys with Duchenne on this trek (but others also!), because this journey is symbolic for us. As boys with DMD lose their ability to walk, we will take on a difficult walk FOR THEM, and raise money for medical research at the same time. All of the proceeds of this epic journey will be donated to the most promising research through the Hope for Gus foundation, which will choose one very promising therapy to fund through the Duchenne Alliance.
Every step we take up to Everest Base Camp will be for all boys with Duchenne. Please support this effort if you can and many thanks for taking this journey with us.
Organizer
Patrick Harvey
Organizer
Mont Vernon, NH