Published: April 13, 2006 11:24 am      

Walking tall

Women pass through Southern Indiana on way across country

When Robin Grapa’s doctor told her two years ago that she was in complete remission from a deadly disease that nearly took her life, she knew she had to do something huge.

What she decided to do would be unthinkable to most people — she wanted to walk across the United States.

“I’m a walking survival story,” Grapa said. “I’m lucky to be here, and I thought, ‘I need to do something big.’”

Grapa, 26, and her mother, Patty Laatsch, decided to walk the American Discovery Trail, a 5,057 mile trail stretching from Delaware to California. Their journey led them into New Albany Wednesday evening.

The pair, from Phillips, Wis., started their trek Feb. 4 in Delaware and have walked about 1,200 miles so far. Grapa hopes to raise awareness and money for those suffering from aplastic anemia, a bone marrow disease she was diagnosed with when she was 18-years-old.

Less than a year into her treatment, she suffered a major setback when the immunosuppressive treatment she was receiving caused her to have severe seizures. At 19-years-old, she was read her last rites as she lay unconscious in a hospital bed, but she continued to fight and made a dramatic recovery. Just days later, she left the hospital, returned to college at the University of Wisconsin and graduated with a degree in graphic design. She got married, found a great job, and her health continued to improve.

“My story is like a miracle story,” she said. “So many others are so horrific.”

The pair prepared for the journey for two years before setting off, mapping out every turn and stopping point and preparing themselves mentally and physically.

“We knew it was going to be rough,” Grapa said. “We expected it to be hard.”

So far, the two have walked through blizzard conditions, storms, rain and hail, but all the while they hope their incredible journey will turn people’s attention to a disease that is unknown and misunderstood by many. According to the Aplastic Anemia and MDS Internal Foundation’s Web site, someone is diagnosed with the disease every 17 minutes. The only known cure is a bone marrow transplant.

“When you’re diagnosed,” Grapa said, “you’re scared and you feel all alone. I want to change that.”

Laatsch said when her daughter told her what she was planning to do, she immediately knew she wanted to come along.

“I believe in everything she’s doing,” Laatsch said. “I want to do everything I can to support her goal.”

The two women try to average about 20 miles per day. They generally get started about 7 a.m. and quit about 6 p.m. They stop only to eat and sleep and carry with them only a tent, sleeping bags, another change of clothes, hygiene products, food items that can be cooked using only water, a small jet-boil stove, a water bladder and a cell phone. Most nights, they camp out in the woods or ask people if they can set up camp in their yards.

Along the way, Grapa and Laatsch have also met and walked with other aplastic anemia survivors or families of those who have lost their lives to the disease. The majority of them have opened their homes to them or put them up in a hotel for the night, an opportunity which allows them a shower and the chance to wash their clothes.

Grapa’s father sends packages full of food and supplies to post offices in towns the two women will be passing through.

“There’s always a surprise in them,” Grapa said. “The best is when my grandma sends us cookies.”

But as the days and miles pass by, they say it’s getting easier. Laatsch said she feared she might not be able to keep up with her daughter, but at the end of most days, they’re both “equally exhausted.” And with 3,500 miles and seven more months still left to go, they’re hoping more people will take notice of what they’re doing and donate money to the aplastic anemia foundation.

“I know this disease can come back,” Laatsch said. “If it does, I know I will have helped raise dollars to find a cure.

On the road

Robin Grapa, 26, and her mother Patty Laatsch are walking across the United States to help raise awareness for aplastic anemia, a bone marrow disease Grapa was diagnosed with when she was 18. She is now in remission.

• 1,200 miles traveled — 3,500 to go

• Pairs of shoes used so far — Four each

• Liters of water drank — 420

• Days gone without a shower — 3

• Nights gone without a bed — 3

• Injuries — none so far, but Laatsch did suffer severe blisters during the beginning weeks of the trip.

• Scariest moment — While camping at a state park in Ohio, their tent was surrounded by a pack of wolves. “We could hear them right outside the tent,” Grapa said. “They were howling at us!”

• Harshest conditions — The women suffered through blizzard conditions while hiking up Dolly Sods, a mountain in West Virginia. It was a 4,000 foot hike up the mountain and then 8 miles across the top.

• Prettiest sight — Shortly after entering Friendship, Ind., the Grapa and Laatsch suffered through a severe storm. After it passed through, they said the colors of the sky were “amazing.” Bright orange clouds were set against a deep blue sky along with a rainbow the women said was “the biggest and brightest they had ever seen.”

• Money can be donated by going to the aplastic anemia’s Web site.