Auburn’s Pacin’ Parson completes cross country walk for PHA

Auburn's Don Stevenson completed his four-month, 3,000-mile cross country benefit walk on Wednesday, raising awareness and, so far, nearly $10,000 in donations and pledges for the Pulmonary Hypertension Association (PHA).

September 24, 2015 2:23 pm
Don Stevenson crosses the finish line at the Pulmonary Hypertension Association (PHA) headquarters in Silver Spring.
Don Stevenson crosses the finish line at the Pulmonary Hypertension Association (PHA) headquarters in Silver Spring.

For the Reporter

Auburn’s Don Stevenson completed his four-month, 3,000-mile cross country benefit walk on Wednesday, raising awareness and, so far, nearly $10,000 in donations and pledges for the Pulmonary Hypertension Association (PHA).

Stevenson, 79, left from the steps of Auburn City Hall on June 9, reached the walk’s halfway point in Minot, N.D. – the geographical center of North America – on July 7 – before reaching his final destination, the PHA headquarters in Silver Spring, Md.

The Pacin’ Parson, a retired minister and former U.S. Marine, walked the final yards of his journey with PHA support group patients and caregivers.

Stevenson averaged about 30 miles a day and 180 mile a week, taking Sundays off to rest.

Stevenson’s walk for PHA is his 20th since 1998 to raise money and awareness for medical causes he supports. He has walked more than 50,000 miles for various charities since 1998. Long-distance walking became his passion after his retirement in 1994.

The end of the walk on Wednesday was Stevenson’s slowest, as PH patients struggle to breathe and require oxygen or daily medication to get around and, for some, even short walks can be laboring.

PH is high blood pressure in the arteries of the lungs, a debilitating disease that affects the functioning of the heart and can lead to death from heart failure. There is no cure and PH, while progressive, is often misdiagnosed as asthma or other less life-threatening diseases. Without treatment, the average survival rate is 2.8 years after diagnosis.

Stevenson and the PHA group crossed a periwinkle finish line, symbolic of the color of the lips of some PH patients when they lack oxygen. Periwinkle also represents hope and empowerment to the PHA community.

“We are both humbled and empowered by what the Pacin’ Parson has done to help PHA provide support for patients, caregivers, health care professionals and researchers in our collective fight against PH,” said Rino Aldrighetti, PHA’s president and CEO, at a short finish-line presentation. “PHA, which for 12 consecutive years has received Charity Navigator’s top rating – four stars – for fiscal accountability and transparency, will celebrate our PH successes as part of PH Awareness Month in November and our 25th anniversary in 2016. We invite the public to support Stevenson’s dedication to PHA’s cause with a donation.”

Stevenson had believed a 20,000-mile charity walk he completed last year would be his final one. However, he felt compelled to support PHA after visiting fellow church member Betty Mayfield in the hospital before she died of the disease.

“I made a promise to Betty that I would walk for her and pulmonary hypertension before she died,” Stevenson said. “I feel honored to be able to raise awareness for this devastating disease.”

Stevenson also dedicated the walk to Dorothy Fitch, a friend who is struggling with PH, and to Cullen Steele, a Kent teen who received a double-lung and heart transplant and is making a strong recovery.

Stevenson followed a route along Highway 2 across the northern part of the U.S., then U.S. 50 through Ohio to Route 7 through West Virginia and Virginia. Each night, he caught up with his wife, Loretta, who drives ahead and secures overnight accommodations. The Stevensons asked hotels to sponsor their overnight stays, never having to pay for lodging.

Along the way, Stevenson met many who were honored to walk with him. Congressional Medal of Honor recipient Clint Romesha walked with him through Minot; and PHA Executive Vice President Carl Hicks, who lost his daughter Meaghan to the disease, was at the kickoff event in Auburn, and then met up with Stevenson in North Dakota to walk with him.

While in Michigan, Stevenson visited with PH patients at the University of Michigan PHA-accredited Pulmonary Hypertension Care Center. UM Medical School professor and center leader, Dr. Vallerie McLaughlin, a former chair of PHA’s board of trustees, hosted the visit.

As he walked through Ohio, Stevenson was celebrated at a Buckeye Rally for Pulmonary Hypertension at The Ohio State University’s Wexner Medical Center.

Using #PacingParsonPHA, PHA chronicled Stevenson’s journey on social media and online at www.PHAssociation.org/PacingParson.