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| Kellie Beck's Fundraising Page |
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| I’ve been an athlete my entire life. By high school I was a proficient athlete in Volleyball, Basketball and Golf. I ran, golfed, climbed, and played competitive racquetball in college for fun. So in the fall of 2002 when I found myself exhausted after a mid-summer Mt. Hood hike, I was puzzled. After completing The Hood to Coast Race that same year I began an odyssey where I lost 40 pounds, and became too weak to walk. After a battery of test and various doctors, I was finally diagnosed 18 months later. Turns out, a spider bite I’d ignored was the cause of an infection throughout my body. The infection resulted in symmetric inflammatory arthritis, diagnosed by a bone scan. Additionally, I had Parvo contracted while my immune system was suppressed fighting off infection.
Before I got sick, I was aware I was athletic, but didn’t appreciate the ability that I had. As I have learned to live with chronic arthritis, I have a renewed passion for activity and such an appreciation for being able to teach my body how to become an athlete again.
Project Athena is helping me realize my dream of finishing an Ironman Triathlon and, with their support, I am training for the Ironman Austin 70.3 in October 2010. |
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