8-Year-old Climbs Kilimanjaro to Help Cure Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy

By Good News Network Tuesday, July 03, 2012

Family Life - Kids

Eight-year-old Tyler Armstrong this week became the second youngest person ever to summit Mt. Kilimanjaro.

“I did it! I climbed to the top of Mt. Kilimanjaro for my friends Hawken, Suhail and Wil and the other boys with Duchenne who can’t climb,” said the Yorba Linda, California boy. He and his team climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro June 25 through July 2 to raise awareness and funds to find a cure for Duchenne muscular dystrophy.

Tyler wants to raise $19,341 – a dollar for every foot he climbed – for CureDuchenne.org, a nonprofit that funds research to find a cure for the devastating muscle disease that impacts one in 3,500 boys.

“It was cool to be on top of Mt. Kilimanjaro,” said Tyler. “It would be even cooler if they could find a cure for Duchenne. We need everyone’s help to find a cure. CureDuchenne needs money to help save boys’ lives.”

He is nearly halfway to his fundraising goal of helping to cure the most common and lethal form of muscular dystrophy. Duchenne impacts 300,000 boys worldwide, who are usually diagnosed by the age of 5, in a wheelchair by age 12 and mostly don’t survive their mid-20s.

Now that Tyler has set the record for the youngest climber to climb Mt. Whitney in a single day, and the second youngest climber ever to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro, Tyler would like to next climb Mt. Aconcagua in Argentina   Tyler’s climb was coordinated through CureDuchenne, as part of the fourth annual Climb to CureDuchenne. The funds raised for Climb to CureDuchenne support the most promising research projects aimed at treating and curing Duchenne.

“It was amazing to reach the summit of Mt. Kilimanjaro led by a courageous young boy with a big heart,” said Paul Miller, co-founder of CureDuchenne and Duchenne parent who summited Mt. Kilimanjaro along with Tyler. “Tyler helped us reach new heights on the mountain just as we are reaching new heights in the research to find a cure for Duchenne.”  

To learn more about Tyler and donate to help him reach his goal, visit TopWithTyler.com.