Climbing for a Cause: Thousands participate in 2018 Big D Climb

The tallest building in Dallas is 70 stories tall and thousands went up them all at Bank of America Tower Saturday morning for the 10th annual Big D Climb.

On the way up, photos of cancer patients remind climbers why they are there. DeeAnn Castillo found her own picture on the wall

“Seven years of remission is pretty awesome,” she said.

The teams raised money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, an organization dedicated to blood cancer research and support services for patients.

Makenzi Ronnau is this year’s Big D Climb Hero.

“I was diagnosed March 23rd of 2016 with stage four Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma,” she said. “I had to be on treatments for my whole entire 8th grade year and throughout the summer it was a week on of chemotherapy and then two weeks at home and I did that for six months straight.”

Ronnau is now a sophomore at Sachse High School. She’s been in remission for a year-and-a-half.

“It’s a surreal feeling. no words can explain how happy it feels,” she said.

Volunteers greeted finishers at the top to celebrate their accomplishment and all the money raised to help save lives.

The 2018 event raised more than $180,000.

You can find a link to donate HERE