Kari’s Klimbers are taking the stairs again! Sunday, February 22, 2026
Steve’s Hustle Link: Click Here
Soooo, it would seem like any time I see a masked man with a knife I’m, like, “come at me bro!” As if last year’s bull$hit pancreatic cancer journey wasn’t enough, my latest medical adventure is “Constrictive Pericarditis” which is making me way more tired than I’ve ever been - other than when I was waiting for Kari’s beautiful lungs - and I will likely require cardiac surgery to address this. Yay! So - this year Kari’s teammate #7, Alex (who gave me one of her kidneys 14 years back) will be taking Kari’s #13 to the top with her sons Noah and Eli by her side.
This kinda sucks – but it’s also a perspective thang. Mom & Dad didn’t think I’d survive my teens with my cystic fibrosis. I’m 65. That’s, like, 375 in CF years! Fully half of lung recipients don’t live beyond 5 years – maybe 20% make 10 years. In April, I’ll have had Kari’s beautiful lungs for 26 years. Without a glitch. When my kidneys failed 14 years ago – Kari’s friend Alex had her hand up in a heartbeat offering her kidney – and it’s worked perfectly since.
This is about what I’ve been given, not what might be taken away. And all I’ve been given completely overwhelms other aspects of my life. Between my Laura, Kari and her family, Alex, soooo many medical professionals, Kari’s friends, and just so many friends supporting me - they are the ones who carried me when I needed them. They are the ones who make survival worthwhile – and I count you among them, Thanks.
There’s a little phrase that I hope defines me when I go – and I will go – but we’ll work to delay that as much as possible: Don’t cry because I’m gone. Smile because I was here.
Over 65 years I’ve been built up to face this nonsense – it still scares the living $hit out of me sometimes – but I still know I have to wander into that dark cave now and then sneering, “Come at me, if you dare…”. We all fight with strength we have – and often we fall back on those surrounding us to recharge.
But enough about me – this is about Kari. 26 years ago I was dying. And then I wasn’t. My lungs were failing after 39 years of
struggling with cystic fibrosis. And
then they weren’t. 26 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 the frame of reference for how I live
now. Breathing with her lungs blows my
freaking mind. This is something I do to
keep Kari’s memory alive.
In less than 2 weeks, on Sunday, February 22, for the 24th time – my team will be taking the stairs 94 floors, 1,600+ steps, in Kari’s
memory.
2026 will be my 24th climb and my team’s
23rd climb with Hustle Chicago for the Respiratory Health Association. Can you imagine what it
feels like to live for 39 years with crappy lungs – dreading any flight of
stairs – then receiving a gift of new lungs from a beautiful Iowa girl and her
family? And then meet that family, and
connect with friends and volleyball teammates who loved Kari. And have those friends and teammates come out
year after year to celebrate Kari with you?
Then – when you find yourself in trouble again with my kidneys failing,
Kari’s friend Alex throws you a rope – gives you a kidney – and allows you to
climb for many more years? They’re good
people, and they help me understand who Kari would have become. And, I get to tell people that I’m slowly
being rebuilt into a girl from Iowa.
(Yes – I adore Caitlin Clark…)
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.
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: www.ClimbingForKari.org
To find someone on my full team (click “Roster”): Click Here
Nice RHAMC story posted about me and the climb: Click Here
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 24 years, our team has raised
nearly a half million dollars – because of people like you. Thank you.
Over the years I’ve done 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 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 Kari’s lungs for nearly 26 years
when we climb – and her beautiful friend’s kidney for nearly 14 years. They have allowed me to more than I’d ever
dreamed possible.
And finally, and very important to me – please consider
organ & tissue donation and register to be a donor on your state’s 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, Illinois
Kari’s Klimbers
BreathinSteven@gmail.com
www.ClimbingForKari.org
Hustle Link: Click Here
