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I have been hoping that I wouldn’t need to post this, but Scooting4Donors is officially on hold indefinitely. I was hoping there would be a window of opportunity to get back out on the road, but it’s not looking good.

COVID isn’t going anywhere and I am high risk. I have basically stayed home for a year now, getting my food delivered and only going out for doctor appointments. It has been a very difficult year and I was still working on scooting in the near future hoping things might change. They have not.

I am still up in the air if I should donate the money I have left to camp like I had planned, or keep the money in hopes of getting out on the road in a year or two. I definitely don’t want to stop the trip completely, so I will keep this page alive!

Thank you for everyone who donated. Thank you to my sponsors. Thank you to my drivers who helped me scoot 1,515 miles through 3 states! I WILL be back….

It’s been one heck of a year! Not really in a positive way, but it definitely could be worse. I don’t know if you’ve heard of a little virus they call COVID-19, but it hasn’t been good for anyone. Because I am a high risk person, I have been self-quarantined at home for over 6 months. I have been able to get out; I go to doctor appointments, monthly infusions and drives around town. Not too exciting, but I now call them my mini-vacations. I have even been able to go out to eat while on a few of these vacations! Of course the restaurants were empty all three times and the were run by people I really trusted.

On top of being mostly alone for 6 months, COVID has put a little damper on my scooting plans. I have had to change my plans two times not knowing what the virus would change next. Well, unfortunately, I have had to change my plans a third, and final, time. This change is a big one and I am very disappointed I had to do it. I had to change my route again, because I have to do the trip before the end of April. There are a few reasons for this, but the biggest reason is if I stuck with my previous route it would have been difficult to volunteer at both of my camps next summer if I did the entire route.

Sadly, I will be missing two stops I was really looking forward to making. I will not be going up to either Denver or San Fransisco. Going that far north not only added extra time (months), but because I have to go during the winter months, weather would have definitely been a problem. I will be taking a new route from Dallas through the southwest to Flagstaff where I will pick up the original route. I will then be stopping in Malibu instead of driving up the California coast.

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Because of this change, I am including my first scoot for my total numbers. Adding my 1,515 miles from Florida, Georgia and Tennessee, I will still be scooting over 5,000 miles from the Atlantic to the Pacific. I am still scooting across the country for organ donor awareness! I can’t wait to get on the road again! Another change will be the dates. Since 2020 seems to be a wash for the entire country, I am going to give more time to see how everything pans out. I will be scooting from mid January to the end of April 2021.

Thank you for following my journey so far! Please share with your friends and I hope to see you on the road next year!

Well, this is getting old! Every time I think things are going smoothly, I hit some more bumps in the proverbial road of life. I never thought a virus that I don’t even have was going to mess up my life as much as COVID-19 has. My last update was on February 20, just days before I self-isolated due to COVID. I have left my house a total of 8 times in the past 3 months.

Everything was so scattered in my life, even though I’ve had all the time in the world, I haven’t been organized or stable enough to think about my trip. I have gone back and forth on what to do over the past week after getting myself together. I’m not wondering IF I’m going to continue the trip. It’s been more of how and when.

On my first go around, I was able to stay in hotels and use my personal vehicle as my follow car. With my immunosuppressive medications, hotels would definitely not be a good choice for me and my driver (and film crew). I have decided that an RV would be best suited for the trip now. Considering I don’t have access to an RV, this will take some more planning.

The second issue is timing. Because this virus is so new and unprecedented, I can’t just go out all willy nilly across the country at the drop of a hat. I need more time to see how the country reacts to reopening and virus statistics.

As a result, I was thinking of later dates, but not too far in the distance. Instead of going with starting dates, I decided to think about ending dates and going from there. I immediately thought of April, due to Organ Donor Awareness Month. I have revolved beginning the trip around April, so why not end it in April. Rounding out the trip on April 30 and completing in during the month sounded good. Then I went back to the beginning date on my schedule. It was exactly December 1st.

My OCD mind perked up! A perfect start date and end date without changing any stops. I will be traveling exactly 5 months. I will be crossing the California border on April 1st. My last state will be during National Organ Donor Awareness Month. I will have 4 months under my belt and hopefully enough publicity to get the most publicity during that month.

In my mind, it all fits. Kind of like the 4th day of the 4th month of my 44th year with my 4th kidney. I will still be doing something that day, as well! I will be Scooting Thru Peachtree on the day I turn 44.

I can’t wait until I get to go across the country to help all the people waiting for life-saving organs. There have been less transplants during this pandemic. Doctors are also reporting that some people who get the virus are also losing kidney function. This trip may be more important than I originally imagined.

I’ll be Scooting4Donors from December 1 – April 30!

It has been a month since I posted. I haven’t had much to share until today. My previous post had my dates and stops. My previous post is a little off now. I have learned many things over the years, but the most important thing I have learned is patience. Sitting in hundreds of waiting rooms for hours upon hours will do that to you. Most of my waiting room time was spent reading magazines, talking to my family or watching television. You’ll learn patience very quickly in those waiting rooms. Patience or anger. I chose patience.

A lot of my life, I have had to just go with the flow and see where life took me. I didn’t know what life would bring me. I could feel great for a month or two and then be down for a week. I could be looking forward to seeing a concert with friends and ready to go, only to feel like a truck hit me that morning. No concert. I could be volunteering at Camp Independence where I’d been volunteering for 26 years and on the morning the kids show up, I could have a 100* fever and end up in the hospital for the week.

It’s not always an illness that changes plans. This newest bump isn’t negative at all. It’s very positive. Unfortunately, I have to push up my trip again. Yesterday, I was talking to my friend and producer and he asked if it was ok to move the starting date again. He’s directing a new television show and he won’t be ready in April. I told him, of course I will! He is also a transplant recipient and we met at Camp Wiwanawi in North Carolina. Yes, Camp Wiwanawi. It was a kidney camp! I want him to be a big part of this journey. He will be making it into a movie!

I told him that I was stuck on my number four hold up. April 4th is the 4th month of the 4th year of my 4th kidney. I’m stuck on that. Well, instead of April 4th, we will be leaving on June 30th; my 44th birthday. I’m sticking with the fours. That gives us time to shoot a preview for sponsors. It gives us time for better planning. It gives us time to get a lot accomplished.

It also lets me go to another camp I was going to miss because of my journey. I will get to volunteer at Camp Braveheart this year. Camp Braveheart is a camp for children with congenital heart disease or heart transplants. I was going to miss going to camp this year, but now I won’t have to.

Things are looking up! I’m going to camp. I’m making a movie. I’m going to scoot across the country. Im scooting in the Fall. I’m hopefully going to change lives, mine included. It all begins the day I hit 44 years of age. June 30th to November 24th, I’ll be Scooting4Donors!

Now that the planning has kicked into full gear I wanted to share where I’ll be stopping. I’m sharing this so you can come by and say hello while I’m scooting, let your friends know if I’m through their neck of the woods or most importantly, if you have a spare room or two at these stops. After going 1,515 miles, I have learned that a big chunk of the money goes to lodging. I could go really cheap and pack a text and camp gear, but my body would not last long if I was sleeping on the ground.

I’m using a scooter because my hips and back aren’t in the greatest shape (literally). I need a real mattress if I want any sleep. Especially for five straight months.

If you are reading this and live in the following places or have friends or family there, please reach out. I would be forever grateful!

Hilton Head, SC
Savannah, GA
Hinesville
Waycross
Valdosta
Thomasville
Tallahassee, FL
Carrabelle
Panama City
Miramar Beach
Pensacola Beach
Orange Beach, AL
Alabama Port
Biloxi, MS
White Kitchen, LA
Covington
New Orleans
Houma
Morgan City
New Iberia
Kaplan
Grand Chenier
Holly Beach
Port Aurthur, TX
Caplan
Galveston
Houston
Prairie View
Giddings
Austin
Temple
Waco
Waxahachie
Dallas
Arlington
Denton
Denison
Sulpher, OK
Purcell
Oklahoma City
Stillwater
Ponca City
Arkansas City, KS
Derby
Wichita
Kingman
Pratt
Mullinville
Dodge City
Garden City
Syracuse
Lamar, CO
Las Animas
La Junta
Fowler
Pueblo
Colorado Springs
Castle Rock
Denver
Idaho Springs
Breckenridge
Wolcott
Gledwood Springs
Parachute
Grand Junction
Dewey, UT
Moab
Monticello
Four Corners, NM
Bluff, UT
Monument Valley
Kayenta, AZ
Chinle
Ganado
Chambers
Petrified Forest
Petrified Forest
Holbrook
Winslow
Winona
Flagstaff
Valle
Grand Canyon
Jacob Lake
Hildale
St. George, UT
Mesquite, NV
St. Thomas
Las Vegas
Primm
Mojave Nant’l Preserve
Amboy, CA
TwentyNine Palms
Joshua Tree
Palm Springs
Redlands
Anaheim
Los Angeles
Beverly Hills
Malibu
Ventura
Santa Barbara
Vandenberg
Santa Maria
Pismo Beach
Harmoney
Plaskett
Big Sur
Monterey
Santa Cruz
San Jose
San Mateo
San Fransisco

Also learning from my previous outing once I’m on the road stops most likely change. I ended up finishing the last trip almost a week earlier than I planned. Sometimes I just felt so go on the road, I’d just keep scooting!

I’m looking forward to blogging more when I get more news. It’ll be a sparse blog until I get closer. The more info I get, the more I’ll share! Thank you for reading!

After a lot of changes and movement the trip has been moved up again. I’m kind of getting sick of typing that, as I’m sure you’re rolling your eyes at my repetitiveness. It seems to be a constant. This time there is a much, much better reason for the postponement.

I am postponing this time because the film crew I am going to have follow me will not be ready until April. That’s right, a film crew! All of the postponements, cancelations and pitfalls have worked in my favor. I will have more information on the filming of the trip on a later date, but that is why the date has changed, AGAIN.

I will now be leaving Hilton Head Island, SC on April 4, 2020. As I put in my previous post: I noticed a strange occurrence when looking into preliminary planning for next years trip. The number 4. In February I will celebrate my 4th kidneyversary for my 4th transplant. Near the end of my trip in June, I will be turning 44 years old. 2020 = 4! It may seem silly, but I see these occurrences as a sign. Scooting4Donors will be bigger than I even imagined. I can feel it.

Now, I will be leaving on the 4th day of the 4th month of the 4th year of my 4th kidney transplant in the 44th year of my life.

Another little change I have made in the trip is a little reroute on the map. Instead of going through a lot of Texas, including Lubbock and Amarillo, I am going to see more of Oklahoma and Kansas. I’m sure the Texas Hill Country and Plains are nice, but I was only scooting through the corners of Oklahoma and Kansas to say I went through those states. I know there is much more to see.

I can’t wait to get back out on the road and help teach people why we need more organ donors! I’m hoping to add thousands of names to the national registry.

Even though I’m gearing up for my trip, I still need money and sponsors! Please share this page and my GoFundMe Page so I can get more people involved. Thank you for reading and happy new year! 2020 will be HUGE!

I have done a lot of contemplating about my trip since I had to cancel for the third time. I was mad, sad, frustrated, but now relieved. I believe things have happened to me or for me for specific reasons. This trip is no different. I was very upset when I had to turn around in Nashville, but it turned out that was perfect timing. Just two weeks later, I tested positive for CMV again. I was able to see my doctors immediately and start taking medications to stop it in it’s tracks. I need this pause, too.

When I came up with the idea, I worked quickly to get going and didn’t plan as well as I should have. I was finally feeling healthy after a tough 6 years, especially tough year, so I wanted to use that health as fast as I could. I didn’t know when I’d get sick again! That was my biggest reason for being quick and unorganized. I’ve been waiting for the next time I’d get sick. It was inevitable. I just knew I’d get too sick to finish. My health has been failing more than it’s been going up.

I found drivers, I raised money and I had a plan. I also thought that it would be easy to get more money and support on the road. I’ve had four transplants and I’m scooting across the country. It was obvious to me that people would jump right on board.

Not quite that easy! First, it wasn’t very believable. I knew I could do it (kind of), but it is quite the story if you really look at it! Second, I was asking for help with zero planning time. Trikaroo and Icelandic Glacial both jumped in immediately to help me, so I figured it would be that way the entire trip. I need to give future sponsors time to look into how they can help and what they can do. Third, I know I’m asking A LOT of my drivers, so that needs to be handled with more time and ease, as well.

I have always looked at the positives at even the worst parts of my life. When I was on dialysis for most of 1999, I figured it was good that I didn’t need to pee at all. I wouldn’t have to get up during movies or the middle of the night! The positive for the trip is all of the lessons I learned in Florida, Georgia and Tennessee. More planning. Don’t scoot alone on dirt roads. Always have a follow car.

Because of this stop, I am redoing the entire Scooting4Donors scoot. I originally planned to cross the country on my scooter. I will be doing that. In one trip. No more stages. No more extended stops. I will be scooting straight from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean. My trip across Florida, Georgia and Tennessee was a practice run! I now know I can do it. I’ve done 1,515 miles!

With the extra planning time, I can find the sponsors and drivers for the 4 1/2 month journey. I can now try and get a video crew and attempt to make a movie about my life and journey. I will plan better. I will scoot better. I will register more donors! The 47 days I was scooting was the healthiest I’d felt in years. I felt healthy again after my last transplant, but CMV cut that off quickly. Now scooting, got me out and about, moving around and most importantly a purpose. I was invigorated. I will continue to do so.

I noticed a strange occurrence when looking into preliminary planning for next years trip. The number 4. In February I will celebrate my 4th kidneyversary for my 4th transplant. Near the end of my trip in June, I will be turning 44 years old. 2020 = 4! It may seem silly, but I see these occurrences as a sign. Scooting4Donors will be bigger than I even imagined. I can feel it.

Talk about going with the flow…

Unfortunately, Scooting4Donors has been put on pause for the rest of the year. I feel like I’ve disappointed my followers, myself and especially, my contributors. There are various reasons for the postponement, but I won’t go into them here.

I am NOT finished with Scooting4Donors. I logged in 1,515 miles through 3 states and registered 15 donors. That is a lot. Other than the amazing backing from my donors, two sponsors and two drivers, I felt like I was climbing a steep hill. I did scoot some steep hills actually.

I need to get back to the drawing board. I still have a route. I still have some funds. I still have the passion.

Scooting4Donors will go on in 2020.

Scooting4Donors will be completed in 2020. Thank you for all of your support in the beginning of this endeavor and I can’t wait to finish my journey to help the 114,000+ people waiting for lifesaving organs!

Until then…

In my 43 years I have learned to go with the flow and roll with the punches. I have learned to be patient in life. Things can change on me in an instant. Well, a small change is happening with Part Two.

We will be leaving for Nashville on September 8th and starting Part Two on the 9th instead of the 1st. For once, it’s not my fault! It’s not really a fault. My new driver, who I’ll introduce later, can’t get off work until that time.

It just gives me more time for publicity, fundraising and planning. I’m ready to get going now, so the 8th can’t come soon enough!

I have had quite the interesting month. I turned 43 the last day of June and got sick a few days later. It turned out that CMV reared it’s ugly head again. On top of that, I was gearing up to go to camp. I had 10 days to become CMV negative if I wanted to go to camp. I can’t be around 115 kids with transplants with CMV. Their immune systems might be worse than mine. I will not even consider being in the same room as a transplant kid if I am CMV positive. I was feeling pretty down those 10 days. If I missed camp, that would be 3 out of the past 4 years I’d miss camp. That’s after 26 consecutive years, first as a camper, then as a volunteer.

My Valcyte worked! I found out two days before camp that I would be going. It was one of the best weeks at camp I can remember. I was a unit head, which means I was in charge of the volunteers and kids in all of the boys cabins. I got to hangout with a bunch of different cabins and even did the zip line with one group. FYI, I HATE heights.

After an amazing week at camp, I went home to rest and my eyes started to bother me. I went to the doctor and was told there was a possibility I could have CMV retinitis. If I was CMV positive in my eyes, I’d be on a month long IV infusion. That would mean PICC line and no trip for the rest of this year so I can figure out what to do. The worry crept in again. I had five days until my eye doctor appointment.

I saw my eye doctor yesterday. No CMV! I have dry eye that comes with old age. AWESOME! I’ll take it. Just need eye drops for a week and then use tears. No CMV also means, I can confirm I’m back on for Scooting4Donors.

I will be leaving Nashville on September 1 and scoot through Memphis, Little Rock, Dallas, Lubbock, Denver and many towns in between. I should be in Denver on October 23. I am going to see what happens from there, both money wise and health wise. Hopefully I’ll continue west, but after the first part of this trip, I’ll go section to section.

I can’t wait to be back on the road again. I just wanted to show you the ups and downs of a transplant recipient. Scooting across the country is tough in itself, but throw in my illness, and you never know what will happen.

I’ll be back blogging sooner than later…