In the United States, about one in every 100 people over the age of 50 has Parkinson's Disease.
Our KNX Hero of the Week is climbing some of the highest mountain-tops in the world, to help find a cure for Parkinson's, right here in Southern California.
It takes a lot of planning, and a lot of training, to climb Mount Everest. But Anthony McClaren has done it. In fact, the lawyer from Los Angeles County has climbed Mount Kilimanjaro and Denali (formerly known as Mount McKinley) as well.
It was done to honor his father, an Air Force Master Sergeant, who died from Parkinson's.
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"When Dad died, I was aware of the 'Seven Summits Challenge,' which is the highest mountain on each continent," says Anthony. "And, I wanted to do something that was next to impossible, to deal with the hurt I was feeling, from my dad leaving."
The Seven Summits include Everest, Aconcagua, Denali, Kilimanjaro, Vinson, Elbrus, and Puncak Jaya.
The experienced climber also formed a non-profit called Climb Above Parkinson's. Proceeds benefit Parkinson's research at the Keck School of Medicine at USC.
Giselle Petzinger is a Parkinson's specialist and researcher at Keck. She says Anthony has donated thousands of dollars which tremendously benefits their lab. "Whether that's, you know, replacing a microscope card, or whether [setting up] a program for a very particular type of analysis."
"Anthony is just a wonderful example of combining doing something that he loves, which is climbing... and using that in a way to draw attention to Parkinson's, and more specially the need to invest in research."
Petzinger says Anthony embodies what it means to be a philanthropist.
"He's really inspirational. So, he's been a great partner for us."
Anthony still has one more summit to reach before he finishes his Seven Summit challenge. The final peak: Vinson Massif, in Antarctica.
He'll begin the journey in November, and it won't be easy.
"You have to be completely flexible, because the weather is the controlling element," says Anthony. "We land on a two-mile long ice runway. And, then we take a puddle-jumper plane to the Ellsworth Mountains."
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As he nears the project's end, Anthony says his dad would be proud of him, completing a feat that less that a thousand people in the world have ever done.
"You know, I have channeled my father's energy a lot in this project. I know that my dad would be very touched about it."
Climbing above Parkinson's. Anthony McClaren is this week's KNX Hero of the week!
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