When I was 40-years-old, I was sitting in a memorial service for former campers and volunteers at a camp for transplant recipients I had been a part of for 25+ years. At the service we have a mural of a tree and the mural has leaves and clouds with names of the people we have lost over the years. We add more names each year after campers and friends have passed away. The memorial service I was at hit me harder than any service I’d been to the previous 25 years. Of the 30 names on that I knew on the mural only 2 had lived longer than 40 years.
How have I lived longer than all of those amazing people? Why am I still here? I have lost a lot of friends over the years. Some of those weren’t even on the mural. I know I have a purpose, but what is it? I’ve volunteered at various camps for kids with transplants and chronic illness. I have watched these kids grow up. What about the kids who weren’t able to grow up?
That is when I decided I needed to help the 114,000 people waiting for life saving organs. I can’t bring back my friends, but I can help others who are going through the same things my friends did. I can help save lives. But how do I do it?
I was listening to a random podcast and they were talking about a guy who walked across England. Due to dislocated hips I can’t walk far, but I recently had to eat my pride and get a mobility scooter for long distances. After getting the scooter, I was able to go to more places than I had in years. Pride can hurt more than it helps. Now that I’m getting around more, why not really get around?
While listening to the podcast, Terry Fox popped into my mind. His journey across Canada inspired me when I was 7-years-old. It’s always been in the back of my mind. This must be why I need to travel across the country and register donors! That is the condensed story of Scooting4Donors. Please follow my journey and please don’t forget to register to be an organ donor. You could save a life!
My original plan was to cover just over 5,000 miles and 13 states. I planned on scooting an average of 40 miles per day at an average 10 miles per hour and followed by my trusty driver for support and safety. My goal was to add hundreds of new organ donors to the national donor registry by the time I finished the trip.
On April 1st, 2019, I left Miami Beach to begin my journey. Forty-five days and 1,515 miles later, I had to cut my journey short. You can read that story in my blog. When I was planning on restarting my trip, COVID hit, and I had to put the trip on the shelf indefinitely. That doesn’t mean I’m quitting.
After some time and contemplation, I have decided to reorganize my trip. Instead of going across the country East to West, I’ve decided to go South to North. This trip will be shorter, but population wise, I’ll be seeing a lot more people.
I will be taking US Route 1 on it’s entire length, going through major cities including Miami, FL, Raleigh, NC, Washington DC, Baltimore, MD, Philadelphia, PA, New York City, NY, Boston, MA and many others. The journey will take 2,370 miles through 14 states.
The plan is to begin in 2025 for the 100th anniversary of US Route 1 and all numbered roads.