Please support my ride in this year’s Pan Mass Challenge: www.pmc.org/profile/RF0091.…
This weekend I will ride in my 14th Pan Mass Challenge (PMC-www.pmc.org), a charity bike-a-thon that raises money to benefit the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. I will hit the road with more than 30 family members and friends as part of Team Kevin Fitz, named in honor of my uncle Kevin, who passed away in the fall of 2007 after a long, brave battle with bone cancer.
Even though we’re coming up on 20 years since Kevin passed, I feel his presence in my life on a near daily basis. Sometimes it’s more routine and probably to be expected, given that I work in state government. I spend an awful lot of time in the Massachusetts State House, his former professional home, and I work on many issues that were important to him as a state rep. It’s hard not to think of him and the incredible work he did throughout his career, as I walk those very same halls.
On other occasions, his presence is more pronounced, usually due to interactions with people who knew him or whose lives were touched by him in some way. This often happens with people I’m meeting for the first time. As soon as they find out I’m Kevin’s nephew, the business of the day is put on pause so they can share an anecdote, a memory, or an expression of gratitude for all he did for them.
I’m not exaggerating. This happens all the time. True story.
Just this week, two individuals, in two separate meetings, interrupted the agenda to talk to me about Kevin. One was a man, who met Kevin on ski trips sponsored by the Youth Activities Commission (YAC), when he was just a young kid. Kevin worked for the YAC at the time and chaperoned many of these trips. The second individual worked as a staffer for Kevin’s successor in the state house. She never met Kevin herself but heard what she described as legendary stories about him from both her boss and countless people in the communities Kevin served.
This weekend Team Fitz will join thousands of others to ride in memory of those we’ve lost like my uncle Kevin. But even more importantly, we will ride for those currently battling this dreaded disease and for those whose cancer fight lies somewhere in the future.
The brilliant doctors and researchers at Dana-Farber are relentless in their pursuit to find a cure. There may be days of setbacks and failure, but they won’t be denied, and they won’t be deterred. If we give them the tools and resources they need, they will make advances; they will have breakthroughs; and one day they will eradicate cancer or weaken it beyond recognition.
From the bottom of my heart, thank you for all the support you’ve given me (and rest of Team Fitz) throughout my 14 years riding the PMC. Every dollar has mattered, and we’ve accomplished so much. But the work is not done, and our fight continues.
Please consider making a donation to support this year’s ride. You can contribute by visiting my rider profile page at www.pmc.org/profile/RF0091 and, by all means, feel free to share this link with others.
Any amount you can give would mean the world to me and my family.
With love and appreciation,
Ryan Fitz
