MADISON, Wis. – A local personal trainer and gym owner is asking the community for help in raising awareness for a disease that took the life of his sister.
Erika Berger lost her life to Gastroparesis back in 2010 at the age of 24. Gastroparesis is a disease in which your stomach can’t empty itself of food in a normal fashion. There is no cure yet, only treatments to help prolong life and ease the pain that comes along with the condition.
That’s what has Brent Berger pushing forward in the hopes of raising funds for more research through fitness.
“There is still a lot of emotion attached to her passing, and as part owner here, my team surrounded me and said ‘hey I think we can do this,’ so the goal is to raise awareness and potentially raise funds to be able to donate to gastroparesis research, and the best way that we thought we could do that was to incorporate a little bit of fitness, so the idea is to bring family together from around the Madison area or beyond,” said Berger. “There is a virtual option as well, in the hopes for going for 100,000 meters on the cardio machines.”
Unfortunately, there isn’t a lot known about the disease itself yet, In Erika’s case, It took years for it to be officially diagnosed. That’s why Brent is hoping an event like this will offer more hope for other families, which is exactly what Erika would have wanted.
“This is about community, and when I think about my sister, I think about so many things that she did for other people, and how important it was for her to bring people together for a common cause, hence the name Cardio for a Kause,” Berger added. “Anything from just coming to participate as part of the community, to any contribution on the monetary front, all of it, 100-percent of it, will be donated to Gastroparesis research.”
The Madison Transformation Center is hosting ‘Cardio for a Kause’ on Saturday morning, August 27th from 7-11 a.m.
It is free to the public, but there is a suggested $20 donation. All the proceeds go straight to Gastroparesis research. You can sign up online ahead of time. There will also door prizes and coffee provided.
August is Gastroparesis Month, so on Saturday you will notice a lot of folks wearing green at the event. They’ll be open to answering any questions you may have.
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