Harry McMurtry has had Parkinson’s disease since 2005, but that hasn’t stopped him from walking all the way from New York City to his hometown in Toronto, Canada.
He’s walking 24 kilometers a day (about 15 miles) and raising money for Parkinson’s research at the same time. So far he’s raised a quarter of a million dollars! Goal: raise half a million!
All sorts of people are walking with him – Parkies and non-Parkies alike. I’d join him in a heartbeat if I wasn’t working at my school!
View the video clip above for some personal inspiration, and click here for the news link.
Choice tidbit from the article:
Funds raised from the month-long walk will be donated to several charities: The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research; the Morton and Gloria Shulman Movement Disorders Centre and The Edmond J. Safra Program in Parkinson’s Disease at Toronto Western Hospital; and the Mount Sinai Beth Israel Movement Disorders Center in New York.
McMurtry says he and his team want their journey to send the message that there is “hope for a cure … that there are better treatments around the corner.”
In the meantime, the cross-border trek has given the walkers an intimate understanding of the strength of the human body and spirit.
“It’s powerful in terms of testing your limits and showing you can do more than you thought,” McMurtry said.
I’d love to know if this trek is helping to remove or reduce some of his PD symptoms.
But all in all, it’s an incredible feat! (And by this point, he probably has incredible feet, too!)
Inspiring!