Community Corner
Pacing Parson Will Finish 3,000-Mile Charity Walk in Silver Spring
This will be the almost 80-year-old retired minister and former Marine's 20th long-distance charity walk since 1998.
Ahead of his 80th birthday, Don Stevenson, a Seattle-area retired minister and former U.S. Marine, will complete a four-month, 3,000-mile cross-country walk to raise awareness and money for the Pulmonary Hypertension Association in Silver Spring, according to a news release.
On Wednesday, Stevenson will walk the slowest and final yards of his journey joined by PHA support group patients and caregivers, some of whom struggle to breathe and require oxygen or daily medication to get around.
PH is a debilitating disease that affects the functioning of the heart and can lead to death from heart failure. There is no cure and PH is often misdiagnosed as asthma or other less life-threatening diseases. Without treatment, the average survival rate is 2.8 years after diagnosis.
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“We are both humbled and empowered by what The Pacing Parson has done to help PHA provide support for patients, caregivers, healthcare professionals and researchers in our collective fight against PH,” said PHA’s president and CEO Rino Aldrighetti. “PHA, which for 12 consecutive years has received Charity Navigator‘s top rating for fiscal accountability and transparency, will celebrate our PH successes as part of PH Awareness Month in November and our 25th anniversary in 2016. We invite the public to support Stevenson’s dedication to PHA’s cause with a donation.”
During his walk, he clocked up to 30 miles each day, taking Sundays off to rest. Stevenson’s journey for PHA is his 20th long-distance charity walk since 1998 to raise money and awareness for medical causes he supports, earning him the nickname, The Pacing Parson.
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Stevenson had believed a 20,000-mile charity walk he completed last year would be his final one. However, he felt compelled to support PHA after visiting fellow church member Betty Mayfield in the hospital before she died of the disease.
PHA has been chronicling Stevenson’s journey on social media and online here.
Photo via the Pulmonary Hypertension Association website.
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