Colossal climb for charity

MICHELLE DODEK

For nearly 20 years, Dan Levitt has worked in seniors care facilities. As an administrator of nursing homes, he interacts on a daily basis with those affected by Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia. With more than 70,000 people in British Columbia suffering from this degenerative illness, the number of people directly impacted is many more. It is for these families, friends and caregivers that Levitt will embark on a colossal adventure on Sept. 24 – climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro in Tanzania.

Mt. Kilimanjaro is the highest mountain in Africa and the tallest freestanding mountain in the world. Climbing more than eight kilometres, to a height of 19,340 feet above sea level, will be a grueling physical and mental journey.

“This will be a big challenge for me, but it pales in comparison to what families face when living with Alzheimer’s,” Levitt told the Independent.

The journey, organized by the Alzheimer’s Society of British Columbia, is called Ascent for Alzheimer’s and was established in 1998. There is a high success rate for the hikers because they engage in team training for months in advance and take an extra two days to get acclimatized to the increase in altitude. Sue Oakey, a Whistler-based hiking guide, has served as the team guide since the inception of the event. She coordinates the training here in British Columbia and works with the Tanzanian guide to take the hikers up to the top of the mountain.

The 10 hikers participating in Ascent for Alzheimer’s will each raise a minimum of $10,000, all of which will go directly to supporting the Alzheimer’s society and research. Hikers will pay for their travel and other expenses out of their own pockets.

“Our team’s goal is to raise $150,000 dollars,” said Levitt, who has more than 70 donors pledging him so far. “My mom is my biggest supporter. She’s sending e-mails to all of her friends, telling them what I’m doing. I think it’s pretty hard to turn down a mother who is so proud of her son.”

Only two of the participants have reached their fundraising target already. “One woman had a company give her $5,000,” explained Levitt. “My average donation has been $100, with my largest donation being $400, so I have to reach out to a lot of people. I think that’s actually fantastic because it’s not all about the money: it’s also about raising awareness about the impact of Alzheimer’s.” He plans to send daily e-mail updates and photos as he climbs. “It will feel like I’m bringing all of the donors with me on the journey,” he commented.

The outreach is a big part of the goal for the journey up Mt. Kilimanjaro. According to Levitt, it’s been a while since Ascent for Alzheimer’s has had big coverage in the media but he hopes that there will be more publicity as the date draws closer.

“In the inaugural year ... Bruce Allen, the manager of Bryan Adams and Michael Buble, took on the challenge. The following year, Gordon Campbell and his family did it. That raised a lot of awareness, because Gordon Campbell was leader of the Opposition at the time,” said Levitt, who hopes to raise the profile of Alzheimer’s in the Jewish community because it touches so many lives. His connection to the disease is not only through his work – Levitt’s mother’s grandfather, Abe Smith, lived for many years in the Louis Brier Home and Hospital and he had Alzheimer’s.

Every member of the Kilimanjaro team, along with the 160 people who have completed the climb, has a special reason for engaging in the challenge. Levitt is the only one on his team who is involved in patient care; others are climbing for family members and the desire to engage in a physical challenge for a worthy cause. One teammate described Alzheimer’s as “a deadly curse,” while another mentioned on her profile that both her mother and mother-in-law died of Alzheimer’s. One past participant described his mother’s battle with early onset Alzheimer’s by saying, “... it has stolen almost everything from her except her smile.”

The journey is still more than four months away and the team has yet to begin training in earnest, but Levitt has been getting out into the mountains as often as he can and has met his team once. “We went for a five-hour hike in Lynn Valley,” he said. “We will be going up the Chief [in Squamish] and doing some hikes in Garibaldi.”

This training cannot prepare them for the possibility of altitude sickness, however. Hikers will take acetazolamide, a medicine to prevent the problem, and the guides have first-aid training. The good thing about altitude sickness though, Levitt noted, is that the cure is simple – you just go back down.

“Reaching the top is not the most important part: this is about the journey,” said Levitt with a smile.

For more information on how to contribute to this cause or to sponsor Levitt, visit alzheimerbc.org.

Michelle Dodek is a Vancouver freelance writer.

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