Drown Me in Donations: A Swimming Journey for Pulmonary Fibrosis

Welcome to my Swim to Breathe blog!

Dad
Four Months before Diagnosis

This is the story of my personal challenge to raise money for the fight against Pulmonary Fibrosis (PF). Having lost my father to this horrible disease in 2009, I have a deep personal commitment to this important cause.

Pulmonary Fibrosis (PF) is a lung disorder characterized by progressive scarring and deterioration of the lungs, robbing its victims of their ability to breathe. This progressive and ultimately fatal disease claims the lives of 40,000 Americans each year—the same number as breast cancer—yet PF receives only a fraction of the funding. As a result, the breast cancer survival rate is 87%, while the PF survival rate is ZERO. My father died a short three months following his diagnosis.  

There is no known cause, no FDA approved treatment,
and no cure for Pulmonary Fibrosis.

Please help me raise money to fight this terrible disease! 

For every dollar you donate, I will swim a yard on Monday, April 11, 2011. 

The more you donate, the further I will have to swim! For example, if we raise $5280, that is a 3-mile swim. For reference, an Iron Man length swim is only 2.4 miles :-)

Follow my progress here as I work my way up from my current level of 1500 yards to over 5000 yards, or more. You decide how far I'll go! Three miles? Four miles? More?

All of the proceeds from this fundraiser will go directly to furthering the mission of the Coalition for Pulmonary Fibrosis (CPF). The CPF is a 501 (c)(3) nonprofit organization founded to accelerate research efforts leading to a cure for IPF, while educating, supporting, and advocating for the community of patients, families, and medical professionals fighting this disease.

Make your contribution today at http://www.firstgiving.com/karenhiser. 

Look for more posts here or follow me on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/khiserFuentek. 

Thank you in advance for your help and support!!!