| Welcome to the new "Our Hike" website! |
Well, here it is. This is the new website. If you don't already know, my mom, Patty (shown above, left) and I (above, right) hiked across America in 2006 to raise awareness and funds for research and patient education for Bone Marrow Diseases. We targeted Aplastic Anemia, more specifically, as I am a survivor of the disease. I was diagnosed in 1997, treated in 1998, and 7 years later was told I was in complete remission. I had one of those moments when I said to myself, "I'm lucky to be here. I need to do something -- and I want this "something" to be huge." So I planned a hike across the country, and in 2006, my mom and I did just that. Our family and friends supported us throughout our journey, and we received sponsorships that really took the whole idea off the ground. Thanks to 4imprint and Celgene, our two major sponsors for making this dream for me a reality, and for helping bring awareness to the little known Bone Marrow Diseases.
Since we've been home, things have been interesting. It took us, seriously, about an entire year to get back into the "groove" of things at home. We still think about the hike and the people we met along the way every single day. It's impossible to forget, and the impact it has had on our lives is... well, I don't think that there are words for it. We just miss it. Some days it almost hurts to think about it, but strangely in a good way. The memories, good, bad, scary, funny... they all make us smile.
So, what are we up to now? Well, the first thing was to enjoy our families, husbands, and friends that we missed so much while we were away. That was, by far, the most difficult part of our journey. We definitely learned there are things you don't take for granted, so this was our #1 thing to do when we got home -- spend time with those we love.
After settling in, we began a slow game plan as to where we wanted to go from there. We did quite a few presentations -- libraries, local women's groups, the Las Vegas AA&MDSIF International Patient & Family Conference, and others. We are still in the process of trying to personally thank everyone we met along the way, and we are just recently beginning the long process of writing a book about our experience.
I'm excited to get this new site up and running, and I hope to have new information up here often. Please follow along in the Blog (link is above). I hope to post in there often about my new adventures, and the status of our book.
Thank you for visiting!
Take care, and happy trails,
Robin Grapa
Patty Laatsch
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