On Sunday August 17, I’ll be running the Anchorage Marathon for one reason: raise $20,000 for an Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) machine for the American University of Beirut Medical Center (AUBMC)—a device essential for monitoring and treating patients with Multiple Sclerosis.
The Middle East might be more volatile than ever right now, but the people living there deserve to get the medical treatment they need. More than 200,000 people are living with MS in the Middle East, the AUBMC’s current OCT machine has failed, and replacing it is critical to continue offering free, high-quality diagnostics to patients regardless of financial means.
This cause is personal. Lebanon’s health system continues to face immense strain, and this machine will directly improve care and research at one of the region’s leading medical centers— a center that continues to provide some of the best medical care in the Middle East despite years of underfunding and strife in Lebanon.
Why Anchorage? I wanted to bridge two places as far apart as possible, Anchorage and Beirut, with one run. (Also, I’ve never been to Alaska!)
Let’s get this machine across the finish line.
