Raising money for asthma sufferers
, News Editor
05-28-2010
Richmond native Jim Thacker is spending weekends in May “Walkin’ for Wheezers.”On May 1, the 1981 Richmond High School graduate walked 44 miles down Highway 24 through Lafayette County. On May 8, he hit Interstate 70, walking 37 miles, and he’ll finish up the weekend of May 29 with a 28-mile walk up Highway 13.
The final “Walkin’ for Wheezers” segment, which ends at the Ike Skelton Bridge will bring this year’s total to 108 miles.
The walks are intended to raise both asthma awareness and money for asthma programs in schools in Lafayette County, where Thacker now lives.
Although his home is now across the river in Lexington, Thacker said he maintains many ties with his childhood home.
“Richmond is my home,” he said. “I may live in Lexington now, but my friends, families and many great people I know live and work in Richmond. I would gladly help anyone there.”
Last year, “Walkin’ for Wheezers” raised $1,600. The money bought spacers – devices the children can use in taking inhalers – for every asthmatic school-aged child that needed one.
“I try to be helpful,” said Thacker, who doesn’t have asthma himself. “I help out with the schools, the county’s health department, and speak pretty much anywhere folks want to know about asthma. It’s my passion.”
Working with school nurses, Thacker helps with equipment, printed resources, classes and advice on how to manage asthma. As an asthma educator, he keeps up with the latest techniques and technologies in asthma care and shares that knowledge with anyone who needs it, particularly school nurses and local health care providers.
“I’ve always been a little surprised that no one in this area of high asthma rates wants to start an asthma clinic,” he said. “Until we get one somewhere in the area, I’ll walk.”
Richmond native Jim Thacker pounds one small stretch of the 108-mile “Walkin’ for Wheezers” crusade benefiting asthma care and education. (Submitted photo)
Full story is in the Friday, May 28, 2010 edition of The Daily News
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