St. Thomas, Ont. friends tandem biking 2,500 km to raise money for stem cell donor registry
On a country road outside of St. Thomas, Ont., Mike Rousseau and Amber Needham are pedaling for a cause.
The friends are just beginning a tandem bike trek of 2,500 km called ‘Tandem Ride for Sight’ with hopes of raising $80,000 for a stem cell donor registry.
“I wanted to help the hospital that helped me get my site back to what was 20/20,” said Needham, an artist and author originally from Simcoe, Ont. but now living in St. Thomas.
She lost her sight in 2014 due to severe damage to her cornea.
“With me having a stem cell transplant, I had to find my own donor. This way by raising money and creating a registry, recipients wouldn't have to,” said Needham.
According to Needham, only one doctor in Canada does stem cell donor transplantation called the Cincinnati Procedure. It helped her regain her sight to 20/20 for a couple of years before what she says was a freak accident which took her vision again.
Friends from St. Thomas, Ont. Mike Rousseau and Amber Needham are cycling 2,500 km on a tandem bike to raise money for a stem cell donor registry, July 4, 2022. (Brent Lale/CTV News London)“We are doing this ride specifically for the ophthalmology department at Toronto Western Hospital and Dr. Chan, for them to be able to create this registry,” says Needham.
Joining her on the ride is one of her best friends Mike Rousseau. He used to be a marathon runner and took up cycling after a hip replacement.
“It’s going to be a lot of miles, but a lot of fun at the same time,” said Rousseau. “It's a challenge and we should have a really great time.”
The two are cycling across the province from St. Thomas and on to Windsor, Goderich, Sudbury, Ottawa and Barrie with a goal of ending at Toronto Western Hospital on August 20.
Needham hopes to raise awareness for diseases of the cornea and the importance of research and innovative procedures that will help clos the gap for patient care in this field.
“What a lot of people don’t know is that a lot of this stuff is not covered,” said Needham.
She added, “To be able to go and be treated by the doctor at Toronto Western, a lot of it comes out of pocket. Having this registry saves not only the money, but the time and the stress. So $80,000 is going to help create the registry and it's going to help do extra research into what is called Limbal stem cell deficiency (LSCD).”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
'Anything to win': Trudeau says as Poilievre defends meeting protesters
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is accusing Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre of welcoming 'the support of conspiracy theorists and extremists,' after the Conservative leader was photographed meeting with protesters, which his office has defended.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
'One of the single most terrifying things ever': Ontario couple among passengers on sinking tour boat in Dominican Republic
A Toronto couple are speaking out about their 'extremely dangerous' experience on board a sinking tour boat in the Dominican Republic last week.
Boeing's financial woes continue, while families of crash victims urge U.S. to prosecute the company
Boeing said Wednesday that it lost US$355 million on falling revenue in the first quarter, another sign of the crisis gripping the aircraft manufacturer as it faces increasing scrutiny over the safety of its planes and accusations of shoddy work from a growing number of whistleblowers.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Fair in Ontario, flurries in Labrador: Weather systems make for an erratic spring
It's no secret that spring can be a tumultuous time for Canadian weather, and as an unseasonably mild El Nino winter gives way to summer, there's bound to be a few swings in temperature that seem out of the ordinary. From Ontario to the Atlantic, though, this week is about to feel a little erratic.