There has been a lot of excitement and media coverage surrounding Knut's crossing of Michigan and an outpouring of support for my mom and her struggles with cancer. Thanks to all those media outlets who have taken an interest in my mom and Knut.
Knut Hill, of Ann Arbor, Michigan, was nominated by his mother-in-law Margy Davis. Knut skied across the entire state of Michigan (a 200-mile solo trek) to raise funds for Margy's bone marrow transplant and raise awareness about her disease, myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) -- an aggressive bone marrow cancer.
"As soon as Knut learned of the overwhelming costs of having a bone marrow transplant his first thoughts were, what could he do to help?" wrote Margy. "While he was already helping through emotional support to my daughter and me, he wanted to do more. While we as a family were all struggling to cope with the diagnosis and research the next steps, Knut went into action mode."
Knut found NTAF on the Web and got the ball rolling with fundraising. His trek across Michigan drew media attention and many supporters. Knut's efforts helped raise more than $18,500 for the NTAF fund in honor of Margy.
"There are no words to express how humbled I feel by his efforts," she wrote "and the two small words of 'thank you' just do not seem to be enough. Knut has put in so much time .. sleepless nights, along with physical and mental effort, that I believe he is truly a hometown hero."
Margy was transplanted January 20, 2009.
Correction: as of August 18, 2009, Margy has not yet been transplanted. The date above was her originally planned transplant date.
