Why I Walk: Meeting milestones to fund research
This year in the National Capital Chapter, one team is celebrating some major milestones in their contributions to the Walk for PKD. We recently sat down with team captain Peggy Krusell to learn more about these amazing achievements and why the Walk is so important to her and her family:
PKD Foundation (PKDF): What is your family history with the Walk for PKD?
Peggy Krusell (PK): My husband, Eric, and I have been involved with the Walk for PKD for 10 years this spring, and in that time we’ve raised over $100,000 with the wonderful support of our friends and family. We feel very good about that.
PKDF: Who will be participating with you in the Walk this year?
PK: Eric and I will attend the actual event, but we have over 50 friends and family who will participate virtually all across the country. People come in and out, but the number usually rounds out around there.
PKDF: How has PKD affected your family?
PK: PKD runs in my husband’s family. He’s lost his grandmother, his mother, and one of his sisters, Phyllis, to the disease. Phyllis was quite young, only 58 when she passed from complications with PKD. Eric has PKD as well, but he has been very lucky. Six years ago, his other sister, Wendy, donated him a kidney and he had a successful transplant.
PKDF: Why do you fundraise and Walk for PKD?
PK: This disease is generational, so for Eric and I, participating in the Walk is important in terms of the next generation: our children, their children, Phyllis’s children, and so on. We fundraise because we believe that funding critical research is one of the most important ways to fight PKD.
PKDF: How do you believe participating in the Walk will make a difference in the fight to end the disease?
PK: Using the Walk to fundraise and put money toward research is the biggest difference I believe we can make as individuals. Another important way individuals can contribute to the cause is to get involved in advocacy. I can’t stress enough how crucial advocating for federal funding is—to call you congressman and push for our fair share of research money. It doesn’t cost you a nickel and it’s so easy. The PKD Foundation has great information put together on their website to help volunteers advocate toward advancing research.
Peggy was delighted to learn that starting this year, 100% of Walk donations will go to PKD research to help bring treatments to patients faster.
To learn more about the Walk for PKD, please visit walkforpkd.org. Registration for fall Walk for PKD events opens in May.
