The Long Walk

IRONWOOD - One step at a time, Don Stevenson, 79, has walked more than a thousand miles to raise funds and awareness for pulmonary hypertension.

During a cross country hike, Stevenson passed through Wisconsin and onward to Ironwood along U.S. 2 Monday.

Beginning on June 9 from Auburn, Washington, Stevenson walked more than 1,700 miles to get to Ironwood. From Ironwood, Stevenson said he will walk 30 miles every day across the Mackinaw Bridge, through Michigan, West Virginia and Pennsylvania and all the way to the Pulmonary Hypertension Association headquarters in Silver Springs Maryland.

Beginning in 1998, Stevenson has since completed 19 trips and more than 50,000 miles to raise awareness for several causes.

He went 20,000 miles for Multiple Sclerosis; 13,000 miles for Huntington's Disease; 7,600 for Alzheimer's; 2,400 for the American Cancer Society; 760 miles for Spina Bifida; 2,086 miles for the blind and special needs kids and climbed Mount Rainier for the American Lung Association.

According to Stevenson, the treks has taken him across America three and a half times; across Ontario, Canada; from Mexico to Anchorage, Alaska; 12,300 feet above sea level on Mount Rainier, more than 18,750 miles around Washington, and more than 106 miles blindfolded across the Cascade Mountains.

Before embarking on cross country walks, he was a U.S. Marine, pastor, teacher, author, poet, truck driver, firefighter and emergency medical technician.

After writing his tenth book, Stevenson said he felt cooped up in his office and went for a walk.

"I became tired of sitting in my office," he said. "So I went walking."

When his wife's (Loretta) father passed away from Alzheimer's, Stevenson said he wanted to walk across America in his honor.

"After awhile, I told my wife, I would like to walk across America for others," he said. "Her father died with Alzheimer's, so I dedicated my walk to him. I walked to Portland, Maine from Seattle."

On this trip, he said he's dedicating every mile to Betty Mayfield, Dorothy Fitch and Cullen Steele.

"I told her (Mayfield) while I was visiting her in the hospital I would do a walk for PH and dedicate it to her," he said, while pointing to the her picture on a program. "She died two weeks later. (Dorothy) is one of my seniors and she has PH. I walked for this little guy (Steele) several years ago. He needed a double lung and heart transplant. So far, he's recuperating nicely and is 14 now."

Stevenson said people have called him crazy and he has earned the nickname, "The Pacing Person."

While on the route, Stevenson said he's physically and mentally active all the time.

"I think of a lot of things," he said. "Sometimes, I get in the zone when my mind's not even thinking, like a marathon. I write sermons in my head. I sing and I think through problems I might have."

As it gets dark, Stevenson said he relies on the good graces of hotel and motel owners for a place to lay his head.

When he gets to the PHA headquarters, Stevenson said he will finally retire from walking across the country.

"I really retired from walking in 2008," he said, "But people kept asking me to walk for their cause. So, as far as I know, this will be my last walk."

According to the PHA, pulmonary hypertension is a rare, life-threatening disease in which high blood pressure in the arteries of the lungs can cause heart failure.

PHA is a community-based nonprofit that relies on donations to fund its many programs, including the nation's largest PH patient and caregiver support group network, lifesaving early diagnosis awareness and education programs, specialty care resources and research to find ways to prevent and cure PH.

Stevenson said people can support his cause by logging onto o2breathe.org/fightPH15, then click on "Don Stevenson."