British Army Major Walking Barefoot Up Route 1A To Bangor Today
Well now here's something that you don't see every day.
Today, you may take notice of a man dressed in British army fatigues walking alongside Route 1A between Ellsworth and Bangor. Barefoot.
His name is Chris Brannigan, and he is on a 1200 barefooted trek between the Jackson Laboratory in Bar Harbor and Jacksonville, North Carolina. After departing Friends & Family Market in Ellsworth this morning at 7:30, he's due to arrive in Bangor sometime early tonight.
Mr. Brannigan, a Major in the British Army, and his wife have organized a campaign called Hope For Hasti, in an effort to raise funds for research. The couple's 9-year-old daughter, Hasti, suffers from a rare disease called Cornelia de Lange Syndrome, or CdLS. Fewer than 2000 people in the United States suffer from it.
The funds collected from donors during Mr. Brannigan's 1200 mile walk will go towards funding the research and development of a gene therapy for CdLS, which the Jackson Lab in Bar Harbor is a part of.
Why is Mr. Brannigan walking barefoot? He recently told a reporter, "I'm doing the walk alone. I don't have any support crew, there's no one following me, supporting me. And I'm doing it barefoot, because as a rare disease, for a family, very often it is a lonely experience.
Last year Chris Brannigan walked 700 miles across England.
It took six years for the Brannigan's and their daughter's doctors to recognize and diagnose Hasti's very rare disorder. Little Hasti dreams of someday being both a chef and a dancer. A gofundme page has been set up for donations, and as of this writing, a little over $37,000 has been donated.
While Hasti may never live an everyday normal life a breakthrough medicine would certainly make her and those that also suffer from Cdls, better.
Please show your support today if you happen to see Mr. Brannigan walking today with a beep of your car's horn or a wave of the hand.