This morning, I came in with the notion that all I wanted to do was write about people who climb up mountains – which may or may not have been spurred by my reading of Miranda July’s collection of short stories.  Enter: Nicole.  Nicole passed me a link about an amazing team who on May 18th began the climb up Mt. Kilimanjaro.

Mt. Kilimanjaro is enormous.  Nearly 20,000 feet enormous.  And four motivated individuals, Cern Basher, Nolan Basher, Arthur (Dan) Fisk, Wendy Rogers climbed up that mountain to raise awareness and funds for 22q13 Deletion syndrome.  They did this all in honor of Dane, the son of one of the climbers and also a young man with 22q13 Deletion syndrome.  Their motto as they worked hard training and rallying their friends: "Do it for Dane"! And "do it" they did.  They raised nearly $35,000 for the 22q13 Deletion Foundation and completed their 10 day journey up and down the mountain (8 1/2 days up and 1 1/2 down).  Another great thing about this group is their amazing website, which gave them the ability to upload (almost) real time photos and post bio’s about each member of the group!

The 22q13 Deletion Foundation provides needed research and support for families and individuals affected by 22q13 Deletion syndrome.

Team Dane: we salute you!