A Walk in the Park

CAMARADERIE, LOVE, SPIRIT and HOPE. These are the four words I would use to describe what I felt yesterday at the annual Energy for Life Walk in Cherry Hill, NJ. I love participating in this walk because it raises awareness, and raises funds to help patients and their families affected by Mitochondrial Disease. It also motivates me to walk a mile, which for some people is a walk in the park (no pun intended) but for me is a very challenging task due to my Mitochondrial Disease. I was actually nervous that I would not even be able to complete the mile this year because my legs have recently been getting extremely tired when I walk even short distances. However, I was determined to do this mile for all those people with Mitochondrial Disease who cannot walk a mile. It was also my personal goal to walk the mile without any rests so that people could actually see the affects on my body when my mitochondria run out of energy.

I did it!!!! With the help of my team behind me and my dad beside me holding my hand for balance, I walked the entire mile without taking any breaks!

To continue the physical challenges of the weekend, my mom and brother went to NYC to participate in four Peloton spin classes to raise awareness about Mitochondrial Disease. Three classes were 45 minutes and one class was an hour long and there was 15 minutes between each class. This was an amazing way to end Mitochondrial Disease Awareness Week because we were able to spread awareness of this not so rare disease in the studio, on social media and throughout the entire Peloton community.

I am so happy to have such a supportive and loving community that includes my family and friends,  the people within the United Mitochondrial Disease Foundation and the individuals and their families that are affected by this terrible and debilitating disease.

To learn more about Mitochondrial Disease please go to http://www.umdf.org/

Written by Sydney Breslow 

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