Man swims across Torch Lake for HHT awareness

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Doctors told Anthony Anzell he had a debilitating genetic disease at a young age, but Anthony has never let that diagnosis define him.

Now, he's going above and beyond to raise awareness about HHT, Hereditary Hemmorhagic Telangiectasia. It's estimated that 90% of people who have HHT go undiagnosed because of the lack of awareness, and that HHT affects more people than cystic fibrosis and muscular dystrophy.

HHT is a rare autosomal dominant genetic disorder that leads to abnormal blood vessels. Anthony went through three brain surgeries, a liver surgery, and a lung surgery before he found out about his HHT diagnosis.

Now, he does crazy stunts to raise awareness so that no one has to suffer like he says he did before finding out if they are affected by HHT.

Earlier this month, Anthony swam the length of Torch Lake, which is about 19 miles. He joined us in studio to tell us more about his swim and the other ways he's raising awareness. He once also ran 50 miles through Hell, Mich.

It took Anthony 15 hours to swim Torch Lake. You can hear from him in the video player above.

Anthony says he's not sure yet what his next crazy stunt will be.

If you want to learn more about HHT, visit www.curehht.org.

If you'd like to make a donation to Anthony's cure HHT campaign, you can do so online here