Name: Frederic Gobry

Age:43

Hometown: A small town in Alsace, France

Reason for Climbing: Being a patient is a lot of waiting and a lot of brooding. It feels good to step outside that role and take an active part in fighting the disease. If it can be in a great place in good company, even better :)My Story: I was diagnosed 2 years ago. At that point, extensive bone damage along my spine was crippling my life: I could barely walk and needed assistance to get in and out of bed. My wife Veronique, my kids Erin and Matteo, and my close friends have been a tremendous support during those hard times. Eventually, the therapy brought the disease under control, and I started recovering, step by step. My oncologist suggested that I do a stem cell transplant, which worked well. But this was also more time with little to no energy. I've never been the athletic type before, but there was so much pleasure in being active again! Veronique had already started running MMRF races. I'm very happy I can share this with her and with my daughter. I hope the drugs coming out of the MMRF trials will let me do that for many years to come.