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Cycling for a Cause
Cleveland Clinic Heart Surgery Patient Peddles to Raise Money and Awareness.
Open-heart surgery patient Ken Dockery plans to bike cross country to raise money for Cleveland Clinic's Heart and Vascular Institute. This is the third tour he's organized to benefit the hospital that saved his life.
Inspire Hope: Coast to Coast
This June avid biker Mr. Dockery will embark on his most challenging cycling journey to date. The purpose is to use long distance cycling to promote heart health and awareness to various heart cures existing today.
The 2007 Inspire Hope: Coast to Coast bike tour will span over 3,600 miles of cross country terrain, commencing in Oregon and ending in New Hampshire. Mr. Dockery's family will provide support and encouragement from close behind in their RV.
"We're all here for one reason," he says. "We're here for hope. That's what this place [Cleveland Clinic] was to me."
Coined the Inspire Hope Tour, Mr. Dockery has raised more than $5,000 during two years' worth of sponsored bike rides of varied lengths.
Encouraging Others
Recovering from open-heart surgery at age 32 changed Mr. Dockery's life outlook. His passion is creating hope in the lives of all those who suffer from heart disease.
"America is so focused on getting the promotion, getting to retirement. I couldn't look that far ahead. I started thinking, 'what am I going to give back?'"
During his first Inspire Hope Tour in 2005, Mr. Dockery revisited the heart unit where he spent six days recovering from surgery. Standing in the hallway, silent and reflective, he heard quiet sobs from a patient's wife. She told Mr. Dockery her husband had stopped taking phone calls from their family and friends and said he no longer wanted to live.
Mr. Dockery shared his own story and explained he was visiting Cleveland Clinic that day because he was in the middle of a 500-mile bike ride to raise money for the Heart and Vascular Institute. The woman immediately asked if he could share his story with her husband.
"Before I left," Mr. Dockery recalls, "he asked me to move his telephone down to his bed so he could take calls. His wife wept."
To make a donation or learn more about Inspire Hope: Coast to Coast, visit www.inspirehopetour.org.
Read Ken Dockery's Letter to Tomorrow.