SYRACUSE, N.Y. — A father is turning his daughter’s type 1 diabetes diagnosis into a cross-country cycling mission aimed at helping fund research for a cure.
Pat McAleer’s daughter, Mary Kate, was 10 in 2009 when she was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes, an autoimmune disease. McAleer said the experience pushed him to find a way to make a difference for others living with the disease.
“I’m reminded that while I’m doing something hard, I’m doing something for people that do something even harder,” McAleer said.
Father bicycling from Washington State to Virginia to raise funds for type 1 diabetes research
McAleer is riding more than 4,000 miles across the country. His journey started on July 17 in Washington state. Along the way, he met up with friends to ride from Buffalo to Rochester and into Syracuse on Wednesday along the Erie Canal, before arriving back home in Virginia on Oct. 11.
McAleer said his ride is fueled by the reality that people with type 1 diabetes do not get to step away from the disease.
“I can always take a break. I can pull over. I can take a day off. People who live with this disease never get a chance to put it to the side,” he said.
As he pedals mile by mile, McAleer said he is encouraged by research he believes is bringing a cure closer.
“I feel like the finish line, or at least a major milestone, is right there with some of the work being done with islet cell transplants,” he said.
McAleer has dubbed the effort “Ride Pat Ride.” The funds raised will support Breakthrough T1D, formerly JDRF. Donations can be made by clicking here.
“I don’t believe it has to be a lifelong sentence because Breakthrough T1D is the global leader in the cure, prevention and treatment of type 1 diabetes,” he said.
McAleer and other bicyclists are also raising money for two other charities: Sportable and the Fanconi Cancer Foundation.