This spring, I will be trekking to Everest Base Camp as part of an advanced mountain medicine elective through Wild Med Adventures. Alongside my medical training in high-altitude and remote-environment care, I will be carrying something far more personal than climbing gear, a wooden sculpture of “Charlie’s Dinosaur.”

The dinosaur represents Charlie Powell, one of the young boys whose tragic loss deeply impacted my hometown of Puyallup, Washington. I grew up in that community and am friends with the Cox family. What happened shook our town, and the work that followed that is supporting children placed into emergency foster care through backpack outreach programs has meant a great deal to me ever since.

I am honored to carry Charlie’s Dinosaur with me to Everest Base Camp as a symbol of resilience, remembrance, and hope.

By raising funds through this journey, I hope to support this nonprofit’s mission of caring for vulnerable children while also advancing my training in wilderness and emergency medicine.

From the foothills of Washington to the Himalayas, Charlie’s Dinosaur will travel as a reminder that even in the most remote places on earth, compassion and community travel with us.