Lucile Salter Packard Children's Hospital at Stanford

Summary:
- My Dad fought cancer for nearly 6 years and successfully "beat" two rounds of it with his larger-than-life attitude and a full-time treatment program at Stanford.
- Donations go directly to help children fight cancer
- We want to thank everyone who has supported Michael and all of us in the family during this difficult journey

5 years ago, my dad (Michael O'Leary) was first diagnosed with cancer. Since then he's successfully fought back cancer, twice, and recently lost his struggle with advanced liver cancer. A massive key to his success has been maintaining a "healthy attitude" - something doctors know is critical to any life-threatening ailment. As he prepared for his more recent surgery at the Standford clinic, a massive 10-hour marathon operation on his esophagus and stomach, he discovered the Lucile Packard Children's Hospital.

One day while undergoing chemo and radiation, he was allowed into the children's hospital to understand how those 10x younger than him were also fighting for their lives, and coping through the painful journey. In the spirit of maintaining and building his "healthy attitude", he wanted to truly understand the perspective of those who knew very little life outside of the burden of a cancer journey.  He was so moved by what he saw that he told the family all about his experience that day and it doubled his resolve to fight while also providing perspective to the amazing life he's been able to live for 76 years, knowing some of those young children, will not get that same shot at 7 plus decades of life.

Getting fit was the other side of his preparation for this major surgery in late March 2020, and he chose to cycle, regularly, to help build up his cardio, muscle mass, and general weight. As an avid cyclist myself, this idea hit me as I was cycling around the 2/3 mile track that lines the famous polo field in Golden Gate Park. When I was a child, we had an annual school fundraiser where you ran laps around a grassy field and most of our local neighbors would sponsor me to run these laps...so why couldn't I do laps again as an adult and continue that tradition of raising funds?

As a way to connect with my Dad's "healthy attitude" and share the power of what his experience at the Children's Hospital did for him and his fight with cancer, I'm out to raise $5k for the Lucile Packard Children's Hospital and show my support with my legs. I'll be riding laps at that same 2/3 mile track in Golden Gate Park on Sunday, August 30th from 7am to 7pm. My goal is ride as many laps as possible to show my support for the hours and hours of fight that my Dad, and everyone battling cancer, have to endure. 

Thank you for considering a one-time donation, it means a lot to me, my Dad, and the whole family. 

If you're not ready to donate, all good. I'd happily take a share on social media and/or you riding a few laps with me during the actual ride. I wish you all a "healthy attitude" and wellness and health in the years to come.

Kevin