Cycling Across America for Veterans
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The Story
Anti-War. Pro-Veteran.
Sounds contradictory right? Well, I assure you I've thought long and hard about this issue. As an opponent to U.S involvement in foreign conflict, I've begun to concern myself with the men, women, and everyone in between, who volunteer their time, their lives, their all to the service of the United States. Veterans are humans regardless of personal politics.
These are people that risk/ have risked more than I have and probably ever will. I wholeheartedly believe it is the U.S. Government's responsibility to look after these individuals upon their return home. If they struggle to re-enter society it's on the U.S. Government. If they struggle with PTSD it's on the U.S. Government. It they struggle with disabilities, visible or not, it's on the U.S. Government.
My father, whom I will refer to as Ed from this point on (I'm the second), has suffered from the degenerating effects of Gulf War Syndrome, a term the VA is hesitant to use, my entire life. He enlisted in the U.S. Air Force when he was 17 years old. 17 years old! When I was 17 I was worried about things like which pizza I should eat for my second lunch, or something else of equal frivolity. At my present age, 28, he was in Desert Storm, thousands of miles away from his young family.
Point is. Ed has essentially withered away over the years before my eyes. He's only 55 years old, but I assure you he feels much, much older. Twenty-six years after his service he still suffers from a wide range of symptoms. You name it he's probably experienced it at one point or another.
Ed used to enjoy attending his local crossfit gym some years ago. He enjoyed socializing with the other crossfitters, a group of people much younger than him. They were very encouraging and helped keep him motivated. For a while it seemed as if he was bouncing back and on his way to better days, but then his pain began to grow too severe. He became unable to work out without being in pain. The final straw was when the pain in his hands, Gulf War Syndrome has many facets including ever-present muscle and joint pain, became so intense he could no longer hold a barbell reliably. Since then his health has declined.
Some days he's unable to leave the house, let alone walk around and go about his daily routine like a normal 55 year old ought to. As an aircraft mechanic, a trade he learned while in the Air Force, Ed's day job requires more physical exertion than many people are accustomed to in their nine-to-five and on those especially rough days he's unable to go to work. Thus, his physical well-being is very much intertwined with his financial well-being.
Tell me, when chronic pain becomes too much for a person to bear: what are their options?
Too often Ed has been prescribed opioids by careless doctors. I don't mean to trash MDs, I know they've worked very hard to get where they are, but some of them care more than others. Of this I am sure. There have been times I've struggled, albeit as an outsider, as I watched him take more and more opioids and build up a frightening tolerance to them. He ought to be able to enjoy a pain-free life.
He's struggled over the years with the bureaucracy of the VA. Filing this form or that. Making the drive from the suburbs to the local branch in the city only to be told he doesn't have the proper ID. Waiting for hours on end only to be prescribed more opioids, or receiving little to no concrete diagnoses. It's very frustrating to witness as a third party so I can only imagine how heartbreaking it must be for Ed, and all the others like him, to be so often dismissed by the organization specifically intended to serve them.
War affects mostly low-income and middle-class Americans and their families.
My father is one of these Americans.
I'm one of these Americans.
My mother is one of these Americans.
My sister is one of these Americans.
My grandparents, uncles, aunts, and everyone down the line of my extended family are all some these Americans.
The Plan
Ed is only one veteran and I am only one son of a veteran. There are so many more out there like us. There are so many more out there worse off than us. So I'm going to raise awareness of his, and other's, struggle by biking across the country. Since I love riding bikes so much I've decided to meld my unquenchable wanderlust with a cause that's near and dear to my heart.
I am going to update on the progression of my trip via Instagram and Facebook, pages coming soon; I am going to speak to local news outlets, to whom I will be reaching out closer to the departure date; I am going to ride with a sign on my bike; I am going to be a visible, cycling fundraiser that many eyes will fall upon.
Ed is disabled. Ed feels forgotten. I am his family.
So together we've chosen to split the proceeds between three organizations pertaining to the treatment/remembrance of veterans, Desert Storm being the conflict in which he was involved:
Disabled American Veterans
National Desert Storm Memorial
Fisher House Foundation
This trip is self-funded. All proceeds will go to the selected charities. I’m committed to 100% transparency- every penny will be accounted for.
My tentative route is Savannah, GA to Seattle, WA.
I'll be cutting diagonally through the American heartland.
I'm giving myself roughly 80 days to complete the trip, whereupon I hope to have stashed aside enough of my own disposable income to catch a flight home for my bicycle and me.
I plan to embark June 1, 2018.
If you've made it this far, stay tuned for updates!
Variation of logo (by: Steven Kulesza)
Ed at 18 (poor photo quality I know it's a scan of a scan).
Ed, Teresa (who also struggles with symptoms of GWS), and the late Nate.
Yours truly and The Machine.
Peace and Bikes. Not War.
-Eddie
Links:
https://www.publichealth.va.gov/exposures/gulfwar/medically-unexplained-illness.asp
http://www.ndswm.org/
https://www.dav.org/
https://www.fisherhouse.org/
Anti-War. Pro-Veteran.
Sounds contradictory right? Well, I assure you I've thought long and hard about this issue. As an opponent to U.S involvement in foreign conflict, I've begun to concern myself with the men, women, and everyone in between, who volunteer their time, their lives, their all to the service of the United States. Veterans are humans regardless of personal politics.
These are people that risk/ have risked more than I have and probably ever will. I wholeheartedly believe it is the U.S. Government's responsibility to look after these individuals upon their return home. If they struggle to re-enter society it's on the U.S. Government. If they struggle with PTSD it's on the U.S. Government. It they struggle with disabilities, visible or not, it's on the U.S. Government.
My father, whom I will refer to as Ed from this point on (I'm the second), has suffered from the degenerating effects of Gulf War Syndrome, a term the VA is hesitant to use, my entire life. He enlisted in the U.S. Air Force when he was 17 years old. 17 years old! When I was 17 I was worried about things like which pizza I should eat for my second lunch, or something else of equal frivolity. At my present age, 28, he was in Desert Storm, thousands of miles away from his young family.
Point is. Ed has essentially withered away over the years before my eyes. He's only 55 years old, but I assure you he feels much, much older. Twenty-six years after his service he still suffers from a wide range of symptoms. You name it he's probably experienced it at one point or another.
Ed used to enjoy attending his local crossfit gym some years ago. He enjoyed socializing with the other crossfitters, a group of people much younger than him. They were very encouraging and helped keep him motivated. For a while it seemed as if he was bouncing back and on his way to better days, but then his pain began to grow too severe. He became unable to work out without being in pain. The final straw was when the pain in his hands, Gulf War Syndrome has many facets including ever-present muscle and joint pain, became so intense he could no longer hold a barbell reliably. Since then his health has declined.
Some days he's unable to leave the house, let alone walk around and go about his daily routine like a normal 55 year old ought to. As an aircraft mechanic, a trade he learned while in the Air Force, Ed's day job requires more physical exertion than many people are accustomed to in their nine-to-five and on those especially rough days he's unable to go to work. Thus, his physical well-being is very much intertwined with his financial well-being.
Tell me, when chronic pain becomes too much for a person to bear: what are their options?
Too often Ed has been prescribed opioids by careless doctors. I don't mean to trash MDs, I know they've worked very hard to get where they are, but some of them care more than others. Of this I am sure. There have been times I've struggled, albeit as an outsider, as I watched him take more and more opioids and build up a frightening tolerance to them. He ought to be able to enjoy a pain-free life.
He's struggled over the years with the bureaucracy of the VA. Filing this form or that. Making the drive from the suburbs to the local branch in the city only to be told he doesn't have the proper ID. Waiting for hours on end only to be prescribed more opioids, or receiving little to no concrete diagnoses. It's very frustrating to witness as a third party so I can only imagine how heartbreaking it must be for Ed, and all the others like him, to be so often dismissed by the organization specifically intended to serve them.
War affects mostly low-income and middle-class Americans and their families.
My father is one of these Americans.
I'm one of these Americans.
My mother is one of these Americans.
My sister is one of these Americans.
My grandparents, uncles, aunts, and everyone down the line of my extended family are all some these Americans.
The Plan
Ed is only one veteran and I am only one son of a veteran. There are so many more out there like us. There are so many more out there worse off than us. So I'm going to raise awareness of his, and other's, struggle by biking across the country. Since I love riding bikes so much I've decided to meld my unquenchable wanderlust with a cause that's near and dear to my heart.
I am going to update on the progression of my trip via Instagram and Facebook, pages coming soon; I am going to speak to local news outlets, to whom I will be reaching out closer to the departure date; I am going to ride with a sign on my bike; I am going to be a visible, cycling fundraiser that many eyes will fall upon.
Ed is disabled. Ed feels forgotten. I am his family.
So together we've chosen to split the proceeds between three organizations pertaining to the treatment/remembrance of veterans, Desert Storm being the conflict in which he was involved:
Disabled American Veterans
National Desert Storm Memorial
Fisher House Foundation
This trip is self-funded. All proceeds will go to the selected charities. I’m committed to 100% transparency- every penny will be accounted for.
My tentative route is Savannah, GA to Seattle, WA.
I'll be cutting diagonally through the American heartland.
I'm giving myself roughly 80 days to complete the trip, whereupon I hope to have stashed aside enough of my own disposable income to catch a flight home for my bicycle and me.
I plan to embark June 1, 2018.
If you've made it this far, stay tuned for updates!
Variation of logo (by: Steven Kulesza)Ed at 18 (poor photo quality I know it's a scan of a scan).Ed, Teresa (who also struggles with symptoms of GWS), and the late Nate.Yours truly and The Machine.Peace and Bikes. Not War.
-Eddie
Links:
https://www.publichealth.va.gov/exposures/gulfwar/medically-unexplained-illness.asp
http://www.ndswm.org/
https://www.dav.org/
https://www.fisherhouse.org/
Organizer
Eddie Vasquez
Organizer
Atlanta, GA
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