Please support the Walk or Burn Survivors on October 4!

Please help me support the Walk or Burn Survivors on October 4

Here is the story of why I will be walking along the Charles River in Cambridge and Boston this October 4 (2009).

Hours after a great February New Hampshire snowshoe trip over Mounts Pierce and Jackson through wind and extreme cold, I experienced extremes of heat in house fire that would leave me in an induced coma for nearly two months. It was May when I was released from the hospital facing myriad unknowns.

Would I ever be able to drink or eat normally? A doctor and speech therapist had predicted that I would always have great difficulty swallowing and need to thicken my drinks to a pudding consistency so I wouldn't get too much in my lungs.

Would I work again? I'd been advised to apply for disability.

Would I be able to hike and backpack again? My physical therapist was skeptical.

In my recovery, I was blessed with a lot of support from loved ones, from my town and from fellow hikers. My love of the mountains was a huge motivator for me. But, I was also blessed with the support and friendship of people I'd never known before - many were fellow burn survivors from the Phoenix Society. The warmth and love I received at support groups, social gatherings and the World Burn Congress was staggering. I was on the receiving end of incredible generosity, often from people who had lost far more than I had. Emotionally and physically courageous individuals, some who will never be able to work again, some who lost limbs, facial features and loved ones took time to support and help me when I was struggling Aside from aiding my recovery, the people of the Phoenix Society have given me a cause I care passionately about.

I was very fortunate in my recovery. Several times, doctors and nurses have looked at me and looked at my medical record and said "you've had amazingly good outcome" or words to that effect. 18 months after my injury, I did my first backpacking trip over 200 miles (the Long Trail in Vermont).

For me, this Walkathon is an opportunity to give back to people who gave me so much and to "pay if forward" to support an organization which continues to enhance the recovery of people who have survived devastating injuries and to enrich and change lives.

CBS Early Show story with me in my burned home:
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/12/09/earlyshow/contributors/tracysmith/main660125.shtml

Here's some web threads that give some sense of the support and concern I experienced from the hiking/backpacking community.

http://www.viewsfromthetop.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1701/

http://forums.alpinezone.com/989-news-about-pedxing.html

The journal from my post-injury hike of the Long Trail is at:

 http://www.trailjournals.com/pedxingLT/