FAQs

THE CHARITIES I CHOSE:


Northtown Pregnancy Center:
I was pregnant at 17 years old and facing all the choices, do I keep the baby, give it up for adoption, or have an abortion? I was scared and confused, but I did know that I did not want an abortion. I was lucky in that my family was very supportive and stood behind my decision to keep my baby (Noelle). I don't know what I would have done if they hadn't and I was out on my own. Maybe my decisions would have been different, being scared and having no where to turn. That is why I chose to support Northtown Pregnancy Center, it will be a place to offer help and support to woman who are scared and feeling like they have nowhere else to turn. For so long we have been telling woman not to have abortions, but not offering answers or alternatives. Northtown Pregnancy Center is doing that for woman and that is why my heart leapt when I first heard these woman talk of their dream. It is why I knew I needed to give them my support.

Olmstead Center for Sight:
Two years ago my daughter had a horrible migraine and went to the emergency room, where they did an MRI and found that she had a brain tumor. A Craniopharyngioma, this type of tumor is located near the optic nerve and the pituitary gland. They removed all of the tumor (so thankful that she did not have to deal with , but she was left blind in her right eye and with many more problems because her pituitary gland was no longer functioning. Dr. Castiglia, her neurosurgeon is an amazing man who really did all he could for my daughter. After spending much time in the hospital and many, many, many doctors appointments, we had found out about Olmstead Center. We were in a very low place. Noelle was feeling like she had lost so much and we went to Olmstead center and they could not do enough to help her. Dr. Simons explained everything so well, there was no way we couldn't understand what was happening with her vision. The people at Olmstead were amazing, a total God send when we needed them most! So I chose Olmstead Center for Sight so that they could continue to give people hope when they needed it most.


MY ROUTE:


This has changed. I originally was going to follow route 20. I started out in Massachusetts and as I walked route 20 found many areas with no shoulder and blind curves and hills so I decided it was totally unsafe, came home and recalculated my route. I am now going to follow the Erie Canal trail to Buffalo, then the Lakeshore trail through PA and eventually catch the American Discovery Trail in Ohio. Exactly where I will catch the American Discovery Trail is still fuzzy at this time. When I get back to Buffalo in a few weeks the guide books I requested should be there and I can finalize my route. I had 5 months to finalize my route when I thought I was following route 20, but had only had about a week to plan this new one.


WHY AM I WALKING:


This is probably the hardest question to answer, because there are so many reasons. I believe God is having me do this whether His plan is to have me finish or just be obedient enough to try this journey is yet to be seen. I guess His ultimate message for me to stop will be when I run out of funds. I had money put aside for expenses and I have a tab here on my blog for donations for my expenses as well as donations to the charities. The money I saved will probably only get me through to PA or Ohio, so I am really trusting in God for the rest.


I want to raise awareness and support for the two charities I spoke about above. I want be able to do something with my life that will mean something for others. I want to be able to give back.


I have seen very little of this country and what better way to really see it and experience all of God's glory and magnificence than walking.


I am 51 years old and overweight. I want to see how far I can push myself against the odds. I want to get fit and most of all I want to inspire others. You are not too old or too out of shape to walk. You do not need to take a journey like this, just start doing something. I started out with just a mile or two a day. If you can't do that, start out walking around the block. Ok, reality here...I haven't told anyone my weight, now I am going to tell everyone who is reading this. When I decided to walk I was 250lbs, 5'5", my heaviest weight ever. After training for the walk I am now at 225lbs. Hopefully when I am done I will be a lot smaller still. It is not so much about size. I was border line high blood pressure, pre-diabetic, boarder line high cholesterol. I don't want to have to take medications for these, I want to make myself healthy through exercise and diet.


MY NEEDS:


Prayer, first and foremost. If I am surrounded by prayer, I believe all my needs will be met. Someone or many people to drive along side me. Either someone to do the whole route or many people to do small chunks of the route with me. Donations: please click on the links to the websites for the charities, check them out and if you feel led, donate. Also if you feel led to, please donate to my expenses. I have quit my job to do this, so I only have what I have been able to save before my journey started. If you want to contribute, but don't have the money (I totally understand that), I am in great need of gift cards/vouchers from restaurants and sporting good stores/clothing stores for my expenses for food and clothing along the way. I have a form letter I could e-mail you (or if you are in contact with Noelle, she can give you some) and you could use to request the gift cards (I seem to find myself at Dunkin Donuts and Subway a lot). I can have you give those or mail those to my daughter and she can mail them to me. (she is my home base)