|
Why we walk 
On July 22, 2006 Frank “Dutch” Culbertson our beloved family member and friend lost his courageous battle against this rare cancer-PMP.
Following Dutch’s death his wife Judy Culbertson chose to continue the fight by creating this walk.
Judy’s continued courage and tenacity in fighting this disease, supported by her children, friends, neighbors, PMP Families and both the Culbertson and Gormley families is an honor to his fond memory and his spirit!
For those of us that knew and loved Dutch it is a simple mission from our heart. We have the opportunity for friends and family to get together for a good cause and hopefully impact the lives of people fighting PMP.
As we walk on Fathers day each year to honor the fond memory of our dear friend Dutch and other loved ones who have lost their battle with PMP, we also walk to provide hope and inspiration for those patients currently fighting the disease as well as their family members.
PMP is an extremely rare disease but has struck very close to home for many Families in the Philadelphia/ Delaware county area. Our goal is to not only create funding for PMP research but also to bring a Specialist to the Philadelphia area to impact medical education.
PMP remains an orphan disease and it remains obvious that this disease will require significant grass roots action to bring the awareness level to a point of action and ultimately transition to solution (proper and timely diagnosis and treatment etc.)
Join Us-Join the fight-Make a Difference!
The Starfish story By Loren Eiseley (Briarcliffe Paraphrasing)
 Once upon a time two friends agreed to meet at the beach one morning (Probably wildwood)
As one friend arrived the other appeared to be dancing along the shoreline
He smiled to himself at the thought of his friend dancing on the beach in the early morning
As he got closer he noticed the friend was reaching down to the sand, Picking up small objects and throwing them into the ocean
He came closer and approached his friend and said “what are you doing”
The friend paused, Looked up and replied ”throwing Starfish into the ocean”
“But why” the friend replied
“Because the sun is up and the tide is going out. If I don’t throw them in they’ll die”
Upon hearing this, the friend said “Don’t you realize there are miles and miles of beach and there are starfish all along every mile?
You can’t possibly make a difference!”
At this, the friend bent down, picked up yet another starfish and threw it into the ocean.
As it met the water, he said, “It made a difference for that one”
We can imagine our friend Dutch with a big smile dancing along the shoreline saving starfish on the beach (cold beer in hand)!
We can also imagine a day in the future when our PMP walk is attended by many survivors of the disease. It is then that we will know that our walk has “Made a Difference for Dutch” |