Olivia Mendocino and Julie Ann Chiodo are giving their own lungs a workout to assist those suffering from pulmonary fibrosis.
The two were in Salmon Arm Wednesday on day four of a 32-day bicycle ride from Vancouver to Toronto. While Toronto is the destination, the goal of the trip is to raise awareness about pulmonary fibrosis and funding for research.
Mendocino lost her father to the lung disease, while Chiodo’s uncle, who also suffered from pulmonary fibrosis, was the recipient of a lung transplant.
“Basically, there’s no in between with the disease,” said Mendocino. “There’s some indications that it slows down, but there’s not a lot out there to help. We’re just trying to raise awareness and hopefully we can reach our goal for $20,000 and we can maybe start some more research for a better cure.”
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Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis affects, a progressive and chronic lung disease, affects approximately 17,000 Canadians yearly.
For more information about pulmonary fibrosis, visit cpff.ca. To support Mendocino and Chiodo, visit foreverlungs.ca.
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