This trip is dedicated to the memory of my mother, Julie Sweet. With our efforts we plan to raise money, as well as awareness, for Pulmonary Embolisms (PE). A PE is a sudden blockage in a lung artery. The blockage usually is caused by a blood clot that travels to the lung from a vein in the leg. PE most often is a complication of a condition called deep vein thrombosis (DVT). In DVT, blood clots form in the deep veins of the body, most often in the legs. These clots can break free, travel through the bloodstream to the lungs, and block an artery. The exact number of people affected by DVT and PE isn't known. Estimates suggest these conditions affect 300,000 to 600,000 people in the United States each year. If left untreated, about 30 percent of patients who have PE will die. Most of those who die do so within the first few hours of the event; my mom's life was taken almost instantly, while she was asleep on a Sunday morning this past June.

We are looking to raise $1.00 per mile of river, somewhere in the ballpark of $2,500. All of the proceeds will be donated to the Mayo Clinic out of Rochester, MN. Mayo is conducting research on Pulmonary Embolisms. Scientist are specifically trying to answer why the risk of pulmonary thrombosis increases with infection and in women as they age, perhaps due to menopause and decreased estrogen. Mayo uses an interdisciplinary research team approach that includes the expertise of physiologists, hematologist, biochemists, clinical cardiologist and cardiac surgeons. The goal is to better understand the underlying cause to develop novel diagnostic and therapeutic strategies directed towards reducing Pulmonary Embolisms and associated events.