ClimbingForKari: Kari's Klimbers - My 21st Hustle Climb

Steve’s Hustle Link: ClickHere

23 years ago I was dying. And then I wasn’t. My lungs were failing after 39years struggling with cystic fibrosis. And then they weren’t. 23 years ago, a beautiful 17-year-old girl from Iowa passed away. Her name was Kari. Kari had told her family how strongly she felt about organ donation – she and her family saved my life. I now breathe with Kari’s lungs. Before Kari, I never understood what breathing well felt like – I never had a frame of reference for how I live now. This is something I do to keep her memory alive.

In a little over a week, on Sunday, February 26, for the 21st time, I’ll be taking Kari’s beautiful lungs up a bunch of stairs. Because this crazy Covid-19 thing is still dangerous to us immune-suppressed, I'll be extra careful. Instead of Soldier Field, we'll be back climbing 94 floors to the top of the "Hancock" (the 875 North Michigan Avenue Building if you're not a Chicagoan.) This will be the 20th time my Kari's Klimbers have participated in the Hustle event for Respiratory Health Association of Metro Chicago. My team this year will be a little smaller, but still mighty.

For the past 18 years I’ve had Kari’s crazy, lovable teammates, #15, #12, #8, #7, #4 & #2 in the stairwells with me – In the past, Kari's family and several other people she grew up with tagged along… After holding off due to the pandemic, this year a bunch of them are back, and now some of their kids will be climbing with us!!!

2023 will be my 21st climb – And it will be the 20th time our Kari’s Klimbers have taken the stairs for Hustle Chicago. This climb really means an awful lot to me and I wouldn't miss it for the world. Can you imagine what it feels like to live with crappy lungs for 39 years – then receive a gift of new lungs from a beautiful Iowa girl and her family. And then to meet that family, and connect with friends and teammates who loved Kari… And have them come out year after year to celebrate Kari with me. And then, when you find yourself in trouble again, Kari’s friend Alex throws you a rope – gives you a kidney – and allows you to climb for many more years! I still have Alex's voicemail on my phone from October 2011 when she told me she was a good match to give me a kidney. She ended her message with, "Looks like there's something good about Algona, Iowa, and the girls that come from there." I couldn't agree more. And, now I get to tell people that I’m slowly being rebuilt into a girl from Iowa… This picture is right after our surgery:

I do this climb to tell people about Kari – and tell people about her goodness and the goodness of her family and friends – and I tell people about Alex and the importance of organ donation. And we also do this for people with crappy lungs, like I had. RHAMC helps people breathe easier – they fund research in lung disease – they help people stop smoking – they help people with lung cancer, pulmonary fibrosis, cystic fibrosis, COPD, asthma and other respiratory diseases live longer, easier lives. One of RHAMC’s mottos has been, “If you can’t breathe, nothing else matters…” I lived through that motto, and I know too many people living it now. The RHAMC and all these crazy people who climb with me, and you, help people breathe. We have a very special mission.

Our cause touched Laura and me another way 7 ½ years ago... My beautiful mom-in-law was diagnosed with lung cancer in fall of 2015. Much to my Laura's dismay, moms and I were partners in mischief and finding the wrong foods to eat, particularly doughnuts. When she was diagnosed with lung cancer, mom and I had some long chats about options, and the strength it takes to fight, and sometimes takes not to fight. She chose to fight. Ironically - the chemo had dramatically shrunk her tumors - it worked. But it was too toxic for the rest of mom and she didn't survive. We do this to fund research so maybe next time - someone else's mom-in-law has a better chance of hanging around and sneaking doughnuts with them.

Like so many important causes – Respiratory Health Association needs funding to help others. If you have a few bucks burning a hole in your pocket, I or anyone on my team would be honored to receive a pledge... But more than anything, I'd love it if you would check out my little website and read about the beautiful girl whose lungs I breathe with, as well as the beautiful girl who gave me her kidney - and the people who surrounded them, and surround me now – people who have allowed me to leap tall buildings...

To see my Hustle page or pledge me: Click Here

To see my website about Kari, go to www.ClimbingForKari.org

To find someone on my full Kari’s Klimbers team: For Team For Roster

Being surrounded by people who knew and loved Kari, and by people who know and love me, is something that defies description… The support I've received from people like you has allowed me to tell so many people about Kari… In the past 21 years, our team has raised nearly a half million dollars - because of people like you… Thank you. I get to do a fair amount of public speaking and, often enough, when I walk into a room, more than one person pulls me aside and says, "You're the one who climbs a hundred stories with your new lungs, and with your donor's friends!!!" And, often enough, they already know Kari's beautiful smile… I am that guy, and I'm proud of that - and more than anything, I want them to know her smile. I will have had her beautiful lungs for nearly 23 years when I climb - and her friend's beautiful kidney for 11 years in May - and they have and will allow me to do more than I'd ever dreamed possible…

And finally, and very important to me - please consider organ & tissue donation, register to be a donor on your state' donor registry, and tell your family how you feel. I know a beautiful girl from Iowa who knew how she felt, and she told her family - I think about her every single day.

Love, Steve

Steve Ferkau

Chicago, IL

Kari's Klimbers

BreathinSteven@gmail.com

www.ClimbingForKari.org