Fighting for air
SUBMITTED PHOTOS
(On cover) Brittany Graham (right) and her mom’s best friend Paula Korman last year at the Fight For Air Climb. (Above) Brittany and Paula climb in honor of Cindy at last year’s Fight for Air Climb.
Stair climbers around St. Louis will come together to climb 40 floors and 856 stairs of the Metropolitan Square building in the Fight For Air Climb to raise money and awareness for lung diseases BY CHARLOTTE BEARD Imagine sitting still or lying in bed and discovering that without warning the air getting to your lungs has become limited or cut-off completely by some seemingly invisible force. On April 4, stair climbers around St. Louis will come together to climb 40 floors and 856 stairs of the Metropolitan Square building bringing awareness and simulating breathing challenges of lung diseases at the annual Fight For Air Climb event and fundraiser. The event will begin at 7 a.m. at 1 Metropolitan Square in St. Louis. A signature event of the American Lung Association, the Fight For Air Climbs are held in skyscrapers around the country on the same day and at the same time. “The idea of the stair climb began more than 30 years ago in our Chicago, Illinois office,” stated Brett Schuette Executive Director for American Lung Association in Missouri. “Back then we wanted to find a way to get people engaged with our organization through something that was unique that they were able to do during the winter months. We have a lot of active people in the community that really the only thing they can do during the winter months is (go 10 | OUR TOWN | MARCH 2020
to) the gym. That’s how the stair climb begin but it also gives our climbers a comparable experience of fighting for air while stair climbing because it’s similar to the breathing struggles of those suffering from lung disease. So, from that (idea) it was well-received there. Now it’s implemented in more than 60 cities across the country. Some other non-forprofits have adopted that idea to do stair climbs from our Fight For Air Climb.” This year marks the 12th climb event for the American Lung Association in Missouri. When asked about the level of participation in St. Louis, Schuette stated that last year 1,150 participants participated in the climb. This year the association anticipates having 1,400 to 1,500 climbers. Some participants have made the climb their annual event. Since 2018, Brittany Graham has spent her birthday participating in the Fight For Air Climb in honor of her mother, Cindy, who died from idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) in 2017. Last year her mom’s best friend, Paula Korman, joined her in the climb. Graham’s mom battled a cough for about three years. The doctors first thought it was allergies, but the cough worsened making conversations challenging. Then she was
