Imagine not being able to breathe, and spending 9 days climbing the worlds tallest free standing mountain. That is my story, and that is my goal.
65 people out of every 100,000. That was the rate at which people on a global scale in 2021 for people who were diagnosed with the deadly disease of Pulmonary Fibrosis. Sadly most of those people are no longer alive.
I was diagnosed with Pulmonary Fibrosis in 2018 by accident during a surgical biopsy of slow growing masses in my lungs. Shockingly it was discovered that almost all of my left lung was not working, and it hadn’t been working since 2011. I just didn’t know it. It was completely fibrotic and most of it ended up being removed. The disease has progressed beyond this point and is now seen in all 3 lobes of the right lung.
Many have never heard of Pulmonary Fibrosis, I surely didn’t at the time of diagnosis. Despite there being over 250,000 new cases a year its a lung disease that is not well understood. It does not have any cure, and its progressive meaning it worsens with time. As it spreads you lose the ability to breathe, and many will begin to feel as if they are suffocating. For most people it’s terminal and the length of time that one can survive varies drastically but most succumb to it in 5 years.
Pulmonary fibrosis simply put means scarring of the lungs. It can be caused by many things. Auto immune diseases, environmental, medication, and others. To date , there’s absolutely no cure, and the only medication available to help slow down ( but not stop) the spread of scar tissue is not available everywhere, and thousands can’t afford it. There’s many causes, but usually it’s not known. Mine is believed to be a cause of the burn pits used in Iraq and Afghanistan.
This disease is a destroyer of families, and peoples happiness. It helped lead to my mental health struggles which almost resulted in suicide. It drained my (now ex) wifes and I bank account, caused anxiety and depression, isolation, and more. As many people who have chronic illness, I know what it’s like to suffer. I also know that I overcame that suffering mentally. I just needed help, and now I want to help others.
I’ve done a lot of things in life. The US Army, and on and on. After my diagnosis I felt like I didn’t have a purpose. I began my outdoor journey. Becoming the first person with PF to climb NY’s Mt Marcy, the catskills 3500, and so on. I still need to do more. Which is why I plan on climbing Mt Kilimanjaro in January 2024.
Mt Kilimanjaro is the worlds tallest free standing mountain. It stands at just below 20,000 feet. This summit will take me 9 days. I’ll cross five ecosystems, and if successful be the first person in the world with PF to complete this, let alone be the first person with less than 1 working lung. All in hopes to raise awareness for Pulmonary Fibrosis. I’ve been blessed to have such a lucky team on my side. Dr. Jan Kasprowicz of NJ’s Elite Sports team, expert respiratory trainer Gilles Essiembre out of NB, Canada and my world famous guides. Jim Sumpter and Kristi Paxton of Endeavor Expeditions . This journey will be photographed by Florida based Chandler Williams of Modus Photo, and will be published in Emerald Coast magazine! This has been a long and challenging journey. I was able to loose over 150 pounds in 11 months, and my physical and mental health has drastically improved. I hike every single day with my dog Taco as well as my regularly schedule workouts with my trainers. I had to push myself beyond what I thought was capable in order to receive medical clearance by my doctors. I was able to drastically improve many of my health issues which alone is a huge accomplishment to me. Despite that, and to maintain compliance with set standards I do have travel health insurance which includes medevac coverage up to 20,000 feet should it be needed.
I am aiming to raise as much money as possible to benefit people around the world. The combined total I earn will be split even amongst 3 charities.
•The Pulmonary Fibrosis Foundation
•Action for Pulmonary Fibrosis
•Asthma and Respiratory Foundation New Zealand
This covers Canada, USA, Scotland, Uk, Wales, New Zealand, Australia, and more. It truly is a disease all around the planet, which is why I chose this particular geographic locations and named this fundraiser OutOfAirAroundTheWorld!
In December I will be posting to this page a way that everyone will be able to watch my journey on Kilimanjaro live. You can also keep up with me on here, as I will do my best to provide weekly updates or changes. If you wish to follow along else where you can find me on social media.
From the bottom of my heart to you, I want to send my utmost gratitude to my sponsors, future donors, and past donors. As well as the organizations who have supported me along the way.
If you or a loved one would like more information, or need assistance there is help available. Regardless of your geographical location you can contact one of the foundations provided here;
https://www.asthmafoundation.org.nz
https://www.pulmonaryfibrosis.org
NOTE: While sponsors are always welcome to donate or discuss future opportunities with me about desired goals there is no advertising allowed for the length of this fundraiser across all platforms. This shall include and is not limited to providing the addresses of any websites or social media accounts owned and/or maintained by a private or publicly traded for profit organization. Any solicitation attempts will be refused in their entirety.
Thank you!
Greetings all! I’m now 72 hours away from departing my home state!!!! I want to let you all know that I am in the best possible physical shape and I am strongly prepared for this journey. I have an unbelievable expedition company leading me. Jim and Kristi have gone absolutely out of their way in preparation for my journey. I’m also blessed to be able to partake in this experience with an awesome team of other members who are all climbing “ Kili” for their own reasons. 
I am aware that some individuals may question the validity of my medical condition. This is not new to my experiences. It is important however that the extremely rare situation of my personal conditions not be over looked based on what is normal or considered common. There is nothing common about my situation. We’ve all seen many stories of people who were told they could never do something only to prove that theory wrong. Resiliency, and uncommon people are all around us. Despite this I recently dealt with an individual who was making an obscene amount of effort to make me look like a bad individual. While my medical records are over 9,000 pages I need to make sure there is some simple proof of my claims. It had gotten so severe that I sought legal assistance but ended up not needing it. 
