The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Emory student climbs Kilimanjaro for a cause
Her father, million others in U.S. living with Parkinson’s disease.
Betty Frances Thomason has demonstrated a willingness to go to great heights for her father and an estimated 1 million other Americans with Parkinson’s disease.
In August, the sophomore at Emory University climbed nearly 20,000 feet above sea level to the highest point in Africa, the Uhuru Peak on Mount Kilimanjaro.
She joined eight others for the climb that has raised $152,500 and counting for the Michael J. Fox Foundation. The actor created the foundation after he was diagnosed at 29 with Parkinson’s, usually a late-life disease.
Just as Fox felt compelled to help fund Parkinson’s research, Betty Frances and her fellow hikers had very personal reasons for pushing to the top of Kilimanjaro, one of the seven highest summits in the world.
Four of her fellow hikers live with Parkinson’s, and the rest — Betty Frances included — have a parent who has the degenerating brain disease often characterized by body shaking or tremors.
Her father, Bryson Thomason, was diagnosed in February 2020 at age 58.
“I can confidently say (the climb) was the hardest thing I’ve ever done — not just physically but also mentally and emotionally. We did 55 miles in seven days while sleeping on the ground and battling different weather conditions,” Betty Frances said. “It was so rewarding, though, because it was so challenging.”
The nine hikers are from nine states and range in age from 19 to 65. Betty Frances was the youngest by about 10 years at age 19, which was likely a good thing. The others knew they were going to make the climb for the Fox Foundation last November. Betty Frances joined the team in June and had only a couple of months to prepare.
“It was kind of crunch time,” she said. A self-described “recreational runner,” Betty Frances had friends help her train. The Greenville, South Carolina, native worked out before work and on her days off. She made day trips to hike the picturesque Blue Ridge Mountains, where areas mimic parts of the route to the African peak. She even walked her neighborhood, carrying a backpack the weight of what she’d be carrying up the mountain to prepare.
Betty Frances wasn’t about to miss out. Two years earlier, members of her family ran the New York Marathon with the Fox Foundation. She couldn’t go. She was too young.
“I was so upset,” Betty Frances said. “Ever since then, I was gunning for another opportunity to represent the Fox Foundation.”
Founded in 2000, the Fox Foundation has found creative ways to fundraise for research for a cure, as well as for improved therapies. Next year will be the 12th that the organization has sent climbers up Mt. Kilimanjaro, said
Liz Diemer, vice president of community fundraising for the foundation. To date, these expeditions have raised more than $705,000 for the foundation, she said.
Each climber committed to raising at least $10,000 for the foundation. Betty Frances raised $39,000, a large chunk of which she said came from her father’s friends and colleagues.
Betty Frances said the hikers didn’t run into any serious problems, though a few were sick late in the climb due to the altitude.
The climbers walked “so slowly — way slower than we did on any of the training hikes,” she said. “I think that was a great strategy.”
Not only did that slow pace help them acclimate to the conditions, but it also kept their heart rates down and “made the incline a lot more manageable,” Betty Frances said.
Their arrival at the top of the peak was “very emotional,” she said.
The climbers’ thoughts were with the people they were representing on the climb, some of whom struggle just to walk up a flight of stairs, Betty Frances said.
She said she and her family had done extensive research on Parkinson’s after her father’s diagnosis. And the trip up the mountain only widened her understanding and knowledge.
“It was comforting to talk to people who are further down the road with it and have more experience with it,” Betty Frances said. “There’s a different level of understanding that comes with people who have similar experiences to you.”
Betty Frances, who has applied for nursing school at Emory, says she can’t wait for the next Fox Foundation event. She hopes one day to possibly even play a role in Parkinson’s research.
And the memory of her trek with eight former strangers lingers.
“When we finally got to stand at the top of the mountain, it was just an unreal feeling that I’m not sure I will ever experience again,” Betty Frances recalls. “I think part of what made it so emotionally challenging and as emotionally fulfilling is because we all share in common the challenges that Parkinson’s brings.”