Tuesday, August 2, 2011
One man is braving the heat on a cross-country bicycling trip that began in San Francisco and is ending, he hopes, in Virginia. He’s risking his health in order to raise awareness about the health of others. And, he’s urging people to help others diagnosed with leukemia.
When Henry Osti planned his cross country bicycle trip to raise awareness of leukemia, he had no idea he’d have to cross Kansas during a scorching heat wave. “I had no idea it could get this hot in the middle of the country,” Osti said.
Osti said crossing Kansas at this time is almost inevitable. He said he couldn’t start the trip from California any earlier because of snow in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. “I couldn’t get through that area because it would be covered with snow,” he said. Right now he might prefer the snow. “it’s pretty hot. It’s about 110 now. Definitely, a lot hotter than Florida,” he said.
Tuesday was the fourth day of a six day Kansas crossing for the Miami, Florida resident. He’s cycling with a message about helping victims of leukemia by being a blood marrow donor. He says the process is less invasive than before. “In the past, you had to go into your bone to extract bone marrow to be a donor. Now, 85% of the time, they can process the bio-matter from your blood stream. So it’s much more simple. People shouldn’t die from leukemia. Everyone can be a bone marrow donor,” Osti said.
That’s why he wants everyone to find out more about registering to be a donor. His intention is to ride 4,000 miles coast-to-coast with the message. You can find out more about how to become a bone marrow donor and follow Osti’s trip across country by clicking here.