Hi, I'm Diane. I'm two years post heart transplant and I have been asked to be a tag sled driver in the Ceremonial Start of the Iditarod. I'll be working with Jan Steves, a four time Iditarod musher and her "One Ear Up" kennel. The photo above is of Jan, her tag sled driver and her "Iditarider" during the 2012 Ceremonial Start.

Help send me to Anchorage so I can join Jan on March 5 2016 for the Ceremonial Start.

Now, its not just sending me to Alaska that I'm asking for your help with. I am participating in this event to honor my donor and raise funds for LifeCenter Northwest, the transplant coordination organization that helps procure organs for transplantation in Alaska, Washington, and Northern Idaho.

In 2006 I started to notice symptoms of what was a heart block. These symptoms included a pounding heart beat, shortness of breath and a feeling that my legs were filled with lead. I initially tried to ignore the fact that something was wrong.  A year later I had a pacemaker implanted. Unfortunately I continued to get worse and my pacemaker was exchanged for an ICD.  By October of 2011 it was clear that the only thing that would save my life was a heart transplant, and I received a left ventricular assist device. This is an implanted heart pump and is referred to as a bridge to transplant. During this time my overall health continued to decline. I received my life saving heart transplant in 2013. But by then I had also lost all of my physical conditioning. I have been working to reclaim my strength and endurance since then.  

My immediate need is $2100 to pay for my flight from Seattle, my hotel in Anchorage, a rental car and food for the duration.  Anything raised in excess of this will be donated to help others in need of a transplant.

And if you are not already an organ donor you can check out LifeCenter Northwest  and register there.