Skyrise Chicago takes place at Willis Tower for a good cause

Welcome back, 7.44, Skyrise Chicago happening today at the Willis Tower. Plenty of people taking part in the event, and one of them is a fellow Fox Chicago team member. Gabriella Primas joins us live this morning. Take a party out there. This is so cool you're out there. You know what, this early in the morning, they started at seven o'clock. This is kind of the elite climbers, by the way. I think the record's something like 13 minutes to climb 105 flights of stairs all the way to the top. For good reason, all the benefit, Shirley Ryan Ability Lab. And we're talking as the climbers that I know very well now. Okay, guys, this is my third year doing this. I have Denise and her son, Jack. Guys, thank you so much for joining us. Alright Denise, we caught up just a few weeks ago, you were getting ready, you were preparing here at the Willis Tower, how do you feel about your race? I feel pretty good because I'm here and I'm going to do it and I'm going to beat my time from last year. Okay, more than 2,000 climbers this year, pretty good number. It was crowded downstairs, the energy's high, obviously it's very loud up here. Like I said, it's all for good reason. Can you share a little bit about your story? Sure, sure. I was diagnosed nine years ago with Parkinson's, and I, seven years ago, started coming to Shirley Ryan, and they've given me functional fitness. They've given me all the cues I need to keep going with my everyday life. You told me the last time we talked that one of the best medicine for Parkinson's is actually exercise. Right. So they've done studies that prove exercise delays the progression of the disease. So I'm at Shirley Ryan four and five days a week, delaying the progression. And I think I'm living proof that it's working. I'm here. All right. I want you to take a good look at Denise because she's amazing. She has a lot of energy even for having five children who are, of course, grown and very successful. One of them being Jack. Thank you so much for joining us all the way from Los Angeles. And your four other siblings, you're all climbing this year. Yes, we're all climbing this year, and it's going to be, we've got the whole gang together. It's going to be really fun to compete against them, yeah. And this is the first time that's all together, because it seems like every year, one-off has something that comes up. Yeah, and every year, they would say, oh, I would have beat you. I would have done this. Well, this is the year we're going to find the answer. This is the year. Guys, I love that you also make T-shirts every year. Okay, someone carry me. I love that. Okay, for your last name, carry. Denise, let's show the back of the shirt. Okay. So, yeah, so the kids each year, they pick a quote that we're going to live by the quote. And Jacko's tagline is, because we're a little bit competitive, last one up buys lunch. Last one up to 103 buys lunch. So, yeah. The sign-up is so successful this year. Like I said, over 2,000. Challenging people at home because there's always next year and there's a year after that and you really can take your time climbing. This shouldn't be something you should be scared of, right? Can you talk about your guys' experience actually getting to the 105th flight? Well, I always like to set little goals for myself and lately my little goals have been the water stations during the climb. So, first water stations at floor 21. So, I get to floor 21, I'm like that's a milestone and that keeps me going to the top. I just take it one step at a time and then you get to these levels and you see all the people cheering you on. You're like, oh, that's right. I can do that. And you keep going. And it seems like 20 and 30 and 40. And then by the time you know it, you're at 80, 90, 100 and it's almost over. And it's the best feeling in the world. We stress too, even though it's maybe some people have said, oh, it's not just a boring stairwell, right? They have current patients in there. They have signs. And there's actually patients who are climbing up, correct? Right, yeah. I mean, people, yeah, like, you know, canes and prosthetics and, you know, holding onto someone's arm the whole way, and they make it. And you cheer them as you pass them, and they cheer you as, you know, they pass you. It's just, it's a... It's a warm feeling. It's very inspiring. You're seeing people of all different walks of life doing the same thing together, and everyone has the same goal of making it to the top. There's no better feeling than when seeing everybody come up. The finish line here at Sky Deck, can we talk for just a second? How proud are you of your mom? I'm very proud of my mom. She is the shining example of what Shirley Ryan does for people. Ever since she joined, there's not a day that goes by where she doesn't do something to better her condition. She takes everything that they teach her and she puts it into her everyday life. And then she brings us and she just inspires us every day. When she did this the first year, after we sat down, she told us all about her experience. There was no question that we were going to join her the next year. She's incredibly inspiring and one of the greatest things that Shirley Ryan has. And we're just so thankful for her and for Shirley Ryan for being able to put her in this position. It's remarkable. You guys are awesome. Denise, it's been so nice to get to know you. Take a good look at the finish line, okay, guys? Because the next time you see it, you're going to have climbed 105 flights of stairs. I don't want to stay here right now. No, we're going back down. Okay, guys, my call to action for you, there's still opportunity to donate to Shirley Ryan Ability Lab. They told you a little bit of how much they do for our community, for people all over the country, all over the world. So go ahead and go to their website and then I look forward to seeing you all at home here next year because the top getting to Sky Deck, it's like no other. Jake, I'll send it back to you. I'm going to be attempting to take some video of me and some other Fox Chicago crew members going up. I can't say it's going to be pretty. I can't say I'm going to remember to take a bunch of videos, but I'm going to sure try my best, buddy. All right, Gabby, I have two questions for you. One, because I know you've done this before. What is it like the next day? How are you feeling? And are you working tomorrow? Are you on the air tomorrow? Of course I am. What do you mean? I'm sorry. It's really tough. But I will say, you can take as many breaks as you need to. And I'm going to give myself some credit. The last two years, I was in really, really good shape, okay? I was getting in my cardio, all this. The last four weeks, I've been, like, touch and go with my workouts. So I am curious to see how bad it's going to be. It's, It's the calves. It's the calves that always hurt. It's a killer. And I don't know if you've ever had really, really sore calves before. Four. It's not fun. It's not fun. It's like getting pinched in the back of the leg for like four days. But, you know, I'm not going to think of that yet. Thanks, Jake, for reminding me. I'm not going to think about it yet. I'm going to do some extra stretches, actually. You're going to crush it. Gabriella Primus live at Willis Tower. Thank you for joining us. Best of luck. You got this. Thank you. And listen, if you wanted to call out sick tomorrow, I don't think anyone would blame you. I think the managers are blaming, yeah. Oh yeah, they're probably watching. Yeah, they might be watching. Alright, go crush it. We'll see you later, Gabby.