Friday, January 6th 2017
Every year, 60,000 people in the United States are diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease. One local recent college graduate is doing what he can, to help find a cure. The journey he's about to embark on to do just that is a personal one. (Photo provided)
Rochester, N.Y. — Rochester, N.Y. - Right now, Matthew Barbaccia is riding around Rochester; but in a month, he'll be taking his bike on an adventure of a lifetime.
"This all is it started from a simple idea. It really was just an adventure I wanted to do and it turned into so much more." Barbaccia said.
After graduating from Syracuse University in December, Barbaccia realized he'd have some free time before going to work with Teach Across America in the summer. And that's when he thought about his uncle Mark.
"He's always a fun guy to be around," he said. "Very outgoing, very talented musician. He has a lot of abilities that have sort of been hindered due to his condition. So that's been another motivation to me."
His uncle was diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease 15 years ago, something his family was all too familiar with.
"My grandfather had Parkinson's when he passed away. So that was sort of hard for my family as well."
So Barbaccia decided he'd bike in their honor -- and raise money for Parkinson's Disease research.
Starting in Jacksonville, he'll go about 4,000 miles in 75 days, ultimately ending in San Francisco with a tent, sleeping bag , and everything he needs packed onto his bike.
He'll be blogging about his journey, hoping to not only raise money, but awareness along the way.
"Ultimately what I plan to do is through the major cities and areas I'm going through, I'd like to coordinate events and get people to ride certain distances with me. In doing so I think I could spread more awareness throughout the country."
Barbaccia said he's been training and talking with experienced riders as he gets ready. He's also done his research about the impact of the disease, learning five million people world wide are living with it, and 60,000 people diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease in the United States every year.
"I really think that I found a good cause to get behind and that motivated me to push myself to really get to something special and I think that's what this can be," he said.
Barbaccia is raising money for the Michael J. Fox foundation, where 100 percent of their proceeds go to research for Parkinson's Disease.
He's got a goal of $50,000, and you can help support him by going to: https://ride4parkinsons.com
http://13wham.com/news/local/biking-across-the-country-for-parkinsons-disease-awareness
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