Transition News and Musings

"What's spina bifida, Barry?" I was asked that question last week in our trans meeting after I had announced the names of four lucky girls who would be spending Saturday afternoon waiting on a swarm of cyclists at a charity century(100 mile) bike ride for the Spina Bifida Foundation of Utah. After a clumsy pause, I remember saying something about how some babies are born with it and that it attacks the spinal cord, but beyond that I didn't have a clue.

After looking it up on the web, I was pleased to see that I at least knew how to spell "spina bifida" correctly. I was also satisfied that these girls were going to be engaged in a good cause.

The volunteer coordinator for the bike ride gladly accepted our emailed offer to help and in the next sentence, explained that, along with other local volunteers, we would be helping to support approximately 800 riders who would be passing through our assigned feed zone between 12-3:30p.m. while on their way to Zion National Park. Our job was to make sure the cyclists didn't run out of Subway sandwiches, high carb snack bars, trail mix, chips, etc. The girls were also tasked with cutting oranges into quarters(they learned how to do that more efficiently and safely from one of the passing cyclists!), filling the coolers with water and Gator-Aid mix, and keeping all of the food neatly organized on the four picnic tables that had been set up at the city park in Hurricane, UT.

The warm early Sprint weather everyone was hoping for never came. Instead it began to sprinkle shortly after we replaced the crew who had been "manning" the feed zone all morning. Along with the rain, the temperature also began dropping. In no time at all the Trans girls were taking turns sitting in the van to get warm. The cyclists didn't have it so easy. They looked wet and tired. Nevertheless, I scarcely heard a complaint as they wolfed down the subs and compared average speeds. They all knew why they had come to ride, and I heard them thank the girls for helping them to endure the remaining uphill miles on their bikes. Riding the entire century was their way of giving an outward token of their commitment to fighting spina bifida to the death.

When charity activities like this one begin to wind-down, invariably someone from the sponsoring organization will come up to us and say, in so many words, "we couldn't have done it without you." And this fundraiser was no different. Now, regardless of how shallow or trite that phrase may sound to you, the fact remains, they're absolutely right--they couldn't have done it without us.. Nor any of the other volunteers. Ask anyone who has ever helped put on a community event and they'll be the first to tell you that successful outcomes depend largely on the kind of volunteer help it receives. Certainly, if the individuals who had this century bike ride had changed their minds at the last minute and had decided not to show up, the organizers would have had to call it off and refund the registration money to each of the 800 entrants. This would have been a huge disappointment all the way around.

And who do you think the real loser would have been if that had happened? Having ridden in events like this myself, I can assure you it wouldn't have been the cyclists; they would have lived to ride another day. But what about the babies born with spina bifida. Would they have lived to see another day? The bottom line is, that when charity fund raising events like the one we were lucky to get in on begin to cancel-out due to community apathy, sooner or later medical researchers are out of a job, and once they're gone the chance of finding a cure is also lost, and when that happens, the disease remains at large, like a serial killer, stalking one child after another.

Thankfully, however, that wasn't the scenario we saw unfold this past weekend. Neither wind not rain could keep the cyclists and local volunteers from joining forces in fighting yet another "good fight." As a result, the money rolled in, payroll's at the pediatric research centers were met, and babies are now beginning to dance on that "killer's" grave.

P.S. Trans students (and parents, you may want to take note of this), who understand the importance of freely giving something back to their communities after they return home are going to make sure that before they graduate from Trans, that their aftercare plan includes this goal: "Bi-weekly volunteer community service."

Taking "care and concern" to that level will not only cure spina bifida, but possibly a few other issues as well.

Until next time, thanks for reading.

Barry