Here we have another courageous Fibro sister!
She is so inspiring and encouraging. I'm sure to many of us sufferers.
I really love coming across these types of articles and websites to be able to share with everyone here.
When she set out to hike the 800-mile Arizona Trail last spring, Sirena Dufault worried that she might not finish.
The daunting trail stretches from Utah to the U.S.-Mexico border.
Dufault's concern stemmed from her decade-long battle with fibromyalgia, a little-understood chronic pain disorder.
"I was a little hestitant to publicize it because I didn't know how far I could go," Dufault said this week. "Now I can comfortably do a 15-mile day with a big pack, no problem."
Next Tuesday — on national Fibromyalgia Awareness Day — the 35-year-old will make a final, eight-mile hike north of Oracle to complete the trail, trudging from the Tiger Mine Trailhead to the American Flag Trailhead.
Dufault kept an online journal throughout her trek, which she made mostly by herself in one- to five-day trips. The May 12 leg marks the 80th day Dufault has spent on the trail.
She hopes her success will inspire the 10 million Americans suffering from the disorder, Dufault said. "There's not a whole lot of positive information out there about people getting their lives back after fibromyalgia."
Fibromyalgia's many symptoms include chronic, widespread body pain, according to the National Fibromyalgia Association. Symptoms can stem from an acute illness or injury, as in Dufault's case. Her diagnosis came in 1998, a year after she was hit by a car as she crossed a street. For months afterward, even as her initial injuries healed, Dufault's pain and fatigue worsened.
"I saw her probably at her worse," said Angi Edge, a nurse and massage therapist who treated Dufault after her diagnosis and became a fast friend. "So many people give up on themselves. They become their disease. She was just not going to give up."
Dufault's pain has not flaired up in a major way in the last three years, she said. "I attribute that to being very, very active."
For her next big adventure, Dufault might hike the Tonto Trail in the Grand Canyon.
She walked 25 miles of the 90-mile trail this past winter.
Dufault enjoyed the physical benefits of hiking so much that she decided to take on the 800-mile Arizona Trail. She is hiking to raise awareness for Fibromyalgia and is donating all proceeds from the hike to the National Fibromyalgia Association. “This experience has been so rewarding and has given me a deep appreciation for the diverse beauty found in the state of Arizona.” said Dufault. “And day after day of hiking, I found out that I am so much stronger than I ever dreamed possible. I want others with fibromyalgia to know that there is hope after the diagnosis.”
Dufault has hiked most of the trail solo in one- to five-day segments, but on May 12, Fibromyalgia Awareness Day, Sirena will complete the final eight miles of the Arizona Trail with a group of supporters. They will start out at the Tiger Mine Trailhead north of Oracle at 7 am and hike south to the American Flag Trailhead, arriving around 11 am. “I conceived the idea of hiking the Arizona Trail at this spot in May 2007,” says Dufault, “so it’s fitting that my hike ends here.”
To see Sirena’s blog, pictures, and videos from the trail as well as to make a donation, visit her website Arizona Trail for Fibromyalgia at www.aztrail4fms.org.
Contact: Sirena Dufault
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