In early June, Dennis, Denise, and Ella Neal (their “Fibrofighter” daughter) walked 150 miles on the Portuguese Camino trail accompanied by a small group of supporters. The Camino is an ancient pilgrimage dating back to the 11th century and ends in Santiago de Compostela, Spain. The group walked from the city of Porto in Portugal all the way to Santiago as a FibroFighters fundraiser, in addition to raising awareness about this rare cancer. Though not without challenges, this Camino walk brought much joy, and self discovery to each of the participants.
The Camino Pilgrimage is made up of an international community of adventurers traveling to take part in a life-transforming journey. The Neal’s have used the Camino Pilgrimage as a fundraiser for Fibrofighters.org. The Neal’s and their supporters share how the FibroFighters Foundation has helped Ella, as well as other international patients by offering patient-advocate services at no cost. The June Camino journey was the second annual Camino Fundraiser and definitely not the last with further Camino plans in the works.
Moving forward, the Neal’s hope to encourage others unable to travel internationally, to walk their own “virtual” Camino walk at home. In this way, supporting not just the team abroad, but those fighting Fibrolamellar home side.
You can follow the Neal’s on their Facebook group “The Way to a Cure”, Instagram @Neal’s4fibro or their new blog https://thewaytoacure.wordpress.com. They will be sharing more videos, photos of their journey and plans for future walks.
Dennis is a retired Telcom professional and serves on Fibrofighters Board of Directors. Denise is a certified Personal trainer and recently received a new certification as a Cancer Exercise Specialist. They live in Colorado where they enjoy all four Colorado Seasons. Throughout this Fibrolamellar journey Dennis and Denise have found both strength and comfort in their Christian faith.