Calgary woman hiking triple crown to help three terminal siblings
Jeanine Dalton is looking to climb three mountain peaks in one day. It's a challenging task at over 22 kilometres with an elevation of 2920 metres, but in Dalton's view, that's nothing compared to what her friends the Lamprecht family face every day at their home west of Edmonton in Evansburg.
Katie and Jacob Lamprecht have four children. Their youngest three have been diagnosed with a genetic abnormality called Juvenile Batten's Disease.
"Well it always starts with vision loss and that's how people get diagnosed," said Katie. "Starts between four and seven years old and then progresses to seizures, dementia, and loss of mobility."
It's a terminal disease that attacks the central nervous system and there is no cure. The life expectancy of someone with it is between 16 to 22 years old.
Kiara is ten, her sister Hannah is eight and AJ is five. The girls were diagnosed last November and the family just found out about AJ in June.
Jeanine Dalton used to babysit the kids when she lived in Evansburg. She's now living in Calgary and working as a licensed practical nurse but still has close ties to the Lamprechts.
"Got really close with the family," said Dalton. "They really welcomed me and took me in as their own and we just maintained that relationship over the years so I consider them like family."
She decided to take action when AJ was diagnosed with the extremely rare terminal disease.
"I've always wanted to do the triple crown and I always wanted to fundraise for a good cause," said Dalton. "It's almost like a lightbulb went off when AJ got that diagnosis, I was like of course I'm going to fundraise for this family."
3 MOUNTAINS
Her plan is to summit three mountains near Canmore: Lady MacDonald, the east end of Rundle, and Ha Ling with the help of a handful of hiking friends.
"I tried to do three mountains in one day two weeks ago just to test the waters and see how it felt," said Dalton. "So I think doing little challenges like that leading up to it will be really helpful."
Her goal is to raise $10,000 and raise awareness about Juvenile Batten's Disease. The money will go to help the family with medical costs and possible treatments.
The Lamprechts spend a lot of time researching treatments that might help their children. They found an experimental stem cell replacement treatment at Duke University in North Carolina.
"There was a lady in the states that did this with their daughter five years ago and she's shown no progression in five years," said Jacob. "But the problem is with that treatment is its $1.7 million dollars per child that you have to put down before they do anything."
Dalton will start her climb early in the morning of August 7.
Learn more about the family and how to donate here:
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
B.C. tenants evicted for landlord's use after refusing large rent increase to take over neighbouring suite
Ashley Dickey and her mother rented part of the same Coquitlam duplex in three different decades under three different landlords.
Mountain guide dies after falling into a crevasse in Banff National Park
A man who fell into a crevasse while leading a backcountry ski group deep in the Canadian Rockies has died.
Expert warns of food consumption habits amid rising prices
A new survey by Dalhousie University's Agri-Food Analytics Lab asked Canadians about their food consumption habits amid rising prices.
MPP Sarah Jama asked to leave Ontario legislature for wearing keffiyeh
MPP Sarah Jama was asked to leave the Legislative Assembly of Ontario by House Speaker Ted Arnott on Thursday for wearing a keffiyeh, a garment which has been banned at Queen’s Park.
Charlie Woods, son of Tiger, shoots 81 in U.S. Open qualifier
Charlie Woods failed to advance in a U.S. Open local qualifying event Thursday, shooting a 9-over 81 at Legacy Golf & Tennis Club.
Ex-tabloid publisher testifies he scooped up possibly damaging tales to shield his old friend Trump
As Donald Trump was running for president in 2016, his old friend at the National Enquirer was scooping up potentially damaging stories about the candidate and paying out tens of thousands of dollars to keep them from the public eye.
Here's why provinces aren't following Saskatchewan's lead on the carbon tax home heating fight
After Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said the federal government would still send Canada Carbon Rebate cheques to Saskatchewan residents, despite Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe's decision to stop collecting the carbon tax on natural gas or home heating, questions were raised about whether other provinces would follow suit. CTV News reached out across the country and here's what we found out.
Montreal actress calls Weinstein ruling 'discouraging' but not surprising
A Montreal actress, who has previously detailed incidents she had with disgraced Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein, says a New York Court of Appeals decision overturning his 2020 rape conviction is 'discouraging' but not surprising.
Caleb Williams, Jayden Daniels and Drake Maye make it four NFL drafts with quarterbacks going 1-3
Caleb Williams is heading to the Windy City, aiming to become the franchise quarterback Chicago has sought for decades.