A-T Cure Tour

Imagine a disease that combines the worst symptoms of cerebral palsy, muscular dystrophy, cystic fibrosis, cancer and immune deficiencies. The A-T Children’s Project is a nonprofit organization that raises funds to support and coordinate first-rate biomedical research projects, scientific workshops, and a clinical center aimed at finding a cure or life-improving therapies for ataxia-telangiectasia (A-T), a rare, fatal genetic disease that affects children. Children with A-T are usually confined to wheelchairs by age 10 and often do not survive their teens. And, because A-T causes various symptoms and the disease involves many different systems in the body, scientists believe that A-T research will help more prevalent diseases such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, AIDS, and cancer. [More]

Running a marathon is a big deal. People train for months or even years to participate in the big race. Twenty six miles. Just thinking about it blows my mind. Now, imagine running a marathon every single day for sixty three days straight. Unbelievable? Tim Borland is doing it! He is traveling across the country to raise awareness and money for A-T. He stopped in Las Cruces on Day 15. I took the kids to the Field of Dreams so they could run to the finish with him.

I think it is important to do things like this as a family. We are so lucky that all of our kids are healthy. Meagan, the outreach coordinator, explained the disease to the girls who were running. A-T is such a debilitating illness. I can’t imagine how difficult it must be for the kids and their families. Not only did I want my kids to learn about A-T, I also wanted them to see what Tim and his family are doing. Anything is possible if you put your mind to it. There is a big world out there with amazing people doing all sorts of things.

If you want to learn more about A-T, visit the website at atcp.org. I want to challenge all of my readers to donate. Even $5 would help. If Tim can run 26 miles a day for two months, you can give up a cup of coffee or a meal at McDonald’s. Check out the schedule and see if the Cure Tour will be in your city. If so, you should definitely show up to encourage Tim and spend some time with his family and the crew.

Related Links

A-T Cure Tour: Video Blog

Las Cruces Cure Tour: flickr photos

YouTube Videos: mine, theirs