Norton Hike 2024
Benefiting Norton Thoracic Institute
- 8am @ Camelback Mountain Echo Canyon trailhead -
Every step you take helps saves the lives at St. Joseph's Norton Thoracic Institute.
Share your photos on social media using the hashtag #NortonHike
Sponsors
- Camelback Sponsors -
Scott Eller
- Echo Sponsors -
Norton Foundation
- Ocotillo Sponsors -
Cruise Planners
REMEMBERING LAURA HART BURDICK
1972 - 2005
1972 - 2005
Laura was a typical fun-loving college student in 1992 when she was diagnosed with leukemia. She was declared “cured” in 1997, but a year later her breathing became labored. After many tests, she learned that her lungs had been irreversibly damaged, most likely by chemotherapy drugs.
In 2003 there was no lung transplant program in the Phoenix area. Laura was forced to travel to California and underwent successful lung transplant surgery at Stanford University. She then returned to Arizona to live a full and productive life with her husband, Jon. In September 2005, at the age of 33, Laura succumbed to an intractable lung infection.
Laura was passionate about many things, but she had particular empathy for her fellow transplant patients who cope with the effects of chronic, life-threatening illness and who must endure months of separation from their loved ones, extended disruption of their daily lives, and loss of income at their time of greatest need.
During her transplant experience, Laura recognized the need for additional social support for these patients and their families as well as a need for assistance with expenses incurred from the lung transplantation process. She expressed a desire to serve as an advocate to help patient families deal with these challenges.
Today, thanks to the generous support of donors like you, Phoenix area patients like Laura can now turn to the Norton Thoracic Institute for nationally recognized life-saving lung transplant expertise. With your continued support, St. Joseph’s can meet today's ever-evolving needs while unlocking the transformational opportunities that future-proof healthier tomorrows.
St. Joseph's Foundation thanks the Laura Hart Burdick Foundation for 16 years of partnership on Laura's Run.
