Riding for Alpha's

I promised more information on Alpha One Anti-trypsin Defiency. My brother in law, Dugan, was diagnosed with Alpha in 1993. It was just a lucky coincidence that he even got diagnosed. After being treated by many lung infections, his doctor said "I just went to a conference last weekend about this new lung disease. I am going to do a blood test for it." Otherwise it could have been years before the correct diagnosis was made. He was sent up to The Ohio State University (GO BUCKS) and entered a research study. They were testing a new treatment called Prolastin. Prolastin is not just a "pill" that you take daily. It has to be infused through an IV. This meant twice/month trips o the hospital. These continue today. Several years after diagnosis when his lung function began to drop, he went to the Cleveland Clinic and was basically told. You better lose some weight, get in shape, because there is no cure and you will eventually need a lung transplant. On the way home he said so how do I start? I want to ride a bike! For those of you who don't know, I have a degree in Exercise Physiology and a RN and have worked with people and exercise programs for 25 years. So my first reaction was how is he going to ride a bike with oxygen? He started with walking for a few minutes and being 70 pounds overweight. He also built and designed a rack for his bike to hold three tanks of O2. He ended up a year later 70 pounds lighter and we rode a 350 mile one week ride! I pulled a trailer with extra oxygen. He was my hero. I was amazed every day at his ability to climb any hill, ride in the heat of the day and still smile through most of it. His comment of the week was "if I didn't have to stop and change my oxygen, stop to eat and drink, and quit answering the phone, I could win this race!"

So this ride that we are starting on is dedicated to Dugan and all Alpha's out there. After watching him all of these years, I know that this little ride we are going to do is nothing in comparison. The bottom line is don't give up. Dugan's ride was only possible through his determination, motivation and basic stubborness. His doctors are all amazed at what he is doing. And frankly so am I! I have watched so many people say they can't exercise because of this or that. But I see a person with 29% lung function doing something special.