Patrick Schneider
Patrick studied at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. In the summer of 2012 he is riding with a group of college aged students on a 70 day, 4000+ mile bike ride from Baltimore to San Francisco.
What is your connection with the cancer community?
Many of my family members have suffered from cancer. As a small child in 1987 my grandmother died from cancer. As I became older, I began to have a fuller realization of what cancer was and why my grandmother “went away.” Ten years after her death, her husband, my grandfather, died from pancreatic cancer. At age 13, his death was hard for me. We used to write each other a couple times per month and talk on the phone several times as well as visited each other for holidays throughout the year. The last time I saw him he had grown very thin and was a shadow of himself. This was my first exposure with the mind processing power to realize what was going to happen and how my family was going to change after his passing. We have been fortunate enough to have several different advances in technology yet a cure for cancer has yet to be found. Now in 2011 I have two other family members that have been stricken with cancer. I would like to ride for them, in the memory of my grandparents as well as for the future generations, for a hope for a cure.
Why are you riding the 4K for Cancer?
When I was on a nine week rotation in the acute care setting for physical therapy I had some patients going through treatment for cancer. It was difficult to see them go through so much turmoil especially at such a young age with a bleak prognosis. I hope that my ride can inspire those patients who have been through and are going through this experience. I would like to be a motivating factor for those who are currently in the hospitals so they may know that if I can ride across the country for them than they can try to walk across the room for me. I’d be lying if I said this wouldn’t be a fantastic opportunity to see the country and get a great workout. As a physical therapist, I’m always looking at new ways to push and test myself as I expect of my patients. Along with my desire to ride for my family members and patients, I would like to push my physical boundaries and test my limitations. What better of a way to do so than to ride across the nation to raise support and awareness for a cause bigger than myself?
