Four years ago, doctors gave Archer parent Eric Borstein three to six months to live. Last week, he walked 202 miles.
From Los Angeles to San Diego, Borstein traversed Southern California for the first annual Where is EB? Fundraiser Sept. 22. The Borstein family, including Archer students Abby Borstein (’25) and Ari Borstein (’27), and Team Phenomenal Hope collaborated to organize the event and invited the Archer community to attend.
Eric Borstein, also known to many as “The Walking Guy,” lives with a rare, and usually fatal, disease called pulmonary arterial hypertension. Roughly 500 to 1000 people are diagnosed with this disease each year.
After collapsing due to a heart attack September 2020, Eric Borstein spent 16 days in an intensive care unit, where he experienced severe heart failure. He was put on a drug with acute side effects and quickly learned that walking helped ease pain. Weeks later, his doctors released him from the hospital and informed his family that he had only three to six months to live.
“I was at home, and I was on a pump with this medication going straight into my chest. The walking helped mitigate the side effects. So, I started walking around the block. One block led to two blocks led to three blocks, which led to a mile, then two, then three,” Eric Borstein said. “What I also found was the walking helped with my mental well being. Living with a terminal disease, you deal with some mental issues, too. The walking helped physically and mentally. [The doctors] never thought I would get off that pump. I got off in a year. I was put on oral medications, and I just continued walking.”
Eric Borstein walks an average of 15 miles per day, adding up to a total of nearly 11,000 miles per year. Last fall, one of his daughters, Abby Borstein, brought up her desire to help people living with his disease and their families.
Eric Borstein soon met Patty George, the founder of the nonprofit organization Team PHenomenal Hope. The Borsteins partnered with the organization to plan the Where is EB? Fundraiser and bring awareness to the disease, raise money for patients’ treatments and emotionally support affected families.
The Borstein family said they expected 150 people, at most, to attend the fundraiser. However, over 300 people showed up and walked 5 kilomenters in support of the cause. Donations have now reached over $185,000.
“It was incredible to see the turnout because it really was a reflection of our characters,” Abby Borstein said. “What I learned from this event is if you put a lot of time into your relationships and the people around you, and if you’re a kind person and do your best, it’s going to be returned in the long run through something like this. It was really, really cool to see how many people truly cared about, not only us and my dad, but the cause … It was a core memory for me.”
Archer students, many of whom are friends of the Borstein daughters volunteered at the fundraiser, where they handled check-in, gave out refreshments and defined the race parameters. Senior Lucy Williams volunteered at the event, mainly assisting with check-in.
“It was a really amazing experience to be able to help a cause that I didn’t know a lot about. I heard about it through Abby, as a friend, and I wanted to service to someone in the Archer community,” Williams said. “It was incredible to see a lot of our grade come together and the families come together, united in hope, all in support of a cause that a lot of us didn’t know about.”
Alongside her dad, Abby Borstein walked 20 miles of the journey to reach San Diego. Additionally, she sent out daily updates via email to those registered for the event, informing them of Eric Borstein’s mileage and highlights of his walk.
“It was really, really special. My dad and I got to really reflect and talk about things we don’t always get the chance to,” Abby Borstein said. “The past year has really been a reflection process for all of us. In February, the monologue assignment for 11th grade English was the first time I had actually opened up about it … We got to bond over walking, and I got to see what it’s like for him since he does long walks each Friday.”
The Borsteins plan to host the Where is EB? fundraiser annually, with a new walking path each year. Eric Borstein said that throughout his recovery process, he has relied on “his village.”
“There’s a lot of different things that have gone into me getting to where I am today: the medicine, my determination, nutrition, exercise. But a big part of it has been what I call my village: it’s my family; it’s my friends; it’s my community. It’s not only helped me, but it’s helped Abby, Ari, Braden and Valerie get through this,” Eric Borstein said. “Archer has been such an integral part in terms of support. I know the Archer community is behind me, so thank you so much to everybody in the Archer family. You are all a part of my village.”
