A dad on a mission!
Check out what this dedicated father is doing for his daughter who has lupus. What a commitment to the cause!Chris Paradysz’ website, Life Without Lupus, details his training efforts as he prepares to break the current 24-hour track record at the Valley Preferred Cycling Center near Allentown, Pennsylvania. The current record of 391.29 miles (629.72 kilometers) is held by Kurt Bond, of Orefield, PA.
Why is he doing this? Here’s how he puts it:
"I’ve been blogging my training since last summer, when I decided to try and break the record. I should tell you that up until that point I was just a normal dad with a few extra pounds who liked to ride his bike on the weekends. But my oldest daughter convinced me I needed to take on a big, new challenge. She’s in college now, but has been living with lupus since she was in grade school. It’s a terrible disease that had caused her immune system to go out of control, wreaking havoc on her entire body, causing long hospital stays, and a lot of scary sleepless nights for her mother and me.
But now that we’re out of the woods and Allie is off at school, I’ve decided it’s time to do something on behalf of the 1.5 million Americans who are bravely battling lupus each day. I know that no matter how much sweat, pain and suffering this attempt may cause me, it’s nothing compared to lupus. But perhaps in my quest, I can raise some money and awareness for an organization leading the fight for a cure."
Through the S.L.E. Lupus Foundation, Chris is doing just that. "I can only hope that my squeaky bike wheels get the grease. I believe that we’re just $1 away from a cure – even the smallest amount of money and support could put us over the top, and on the way to a life without lupus. That’s our hope; that is our goal.”
Note: While my dad might not yet have any world records to his name (other than having the honor of being The Best Dad Ever), I'm proud to say that a few years back, at the age of 62, my dad joined me (and Johnny, my sister, and brother-in-law) as we competed in the Dublin Marathon to raise money for the Arthritis Foundation. How exciting for me to walk alongside my Dad for almost 7 hours as we covered 26.2 miles of Irish sidewalk! What's more, Johnny, Katie and I could train together because we all live close by, but my dad had to train for 6 months on his own - walking the streets of my little home town of Greencastle, Indiana. My mom was there for support, of course - but kudos to Papa for showing his youngest daughter how much he cares!
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