By Crystal Bozek, The Eagle-Tribune, North Andover, Mass.
Jul. 20–ANDOVER — Brian Hussey hadn’t felt 100 percent right when he got into his car to drive home that day. That’s the only way he can explain it. Then about a mile from his house, he started convulsing, lost control and crashed his car into the library. Within hours, Hussey’s life was turned upside down. Not only had he broken five vertebrae in the crash, but at 30 years old, he was diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor. It might have been two years ago, but he still remembers it like it was yesterday. “Everything was fine before, or I thought it was,” the Andover native said. “I’ll never forget that day. How do you?” Hussey can recite the date of his crash precisely — Sept. 6, 2006. Then came surgery and 18 months of chemotherapy and a couple scares when he developed a blood clot in his lung and a nearly fatal colon infection. Now, the 32-year-old Hussey is cancer free and training to ride 192 miles over two days in a bike-a-thon spanning from Sturbridge to Provincetown to benefit the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, where he will be a patient for life. “Everything is A-OK. I wanted to do this to prove I was still normal. I could conquer challenges,” Hussey said. “And maybe I’d be an inspiration to other people.” The Pan-Mass Challenge started in 1980 and has raised more than $204 million for cancer research and treatment. The ride, in its 29th year, will start Aug. 1, and 5,500 cyclists from 36 states and six countries are expected to ride. About 300 of the riders are cancer patients or survivors like Hussey. “This is my way of giving back,” he said. “The doctors and workers at Dana-Farber were so great to me and my family, making them feel welcomed. … It’s a community of people, not one you want to become part of, but you are. These are people that can relate. “So many people have been affected by cancer, whether it’s them or their family or friends,” he said. Despite only completing treatment in February, this will be Hussey’s second Pan-Mass ride. He first heard of the ride while at work, finding that many of his co-workers at a Boston financial services firm were also cancer survivors or patients. Still not strong enough and on chemo, he rode for a day during last year’s event, volunteering on the second day with family and friends. He felt he was ready for the whole route this year. Many of Hussey’s family members and friends will volunteer at the last stop before the finish line on Aug. 3, so they’ll be able to share in the excitement of his accomplishment. Hussey has already raised $4,280. His original goal was $5,000, but now he wants to see if he can reach $10,000. His donations will go toward brain tumor research. He has a ways to go, but the fundraising might be the easy part. To train for the ride, Hussey usually rides about 10 to 20 miles three nights a week. Then it’s 30-mile rides on the weekends. He had to stop for several days earlier this summer when he suffered another seizure that pulled his back muscles. Now that he feels better, he’s pushing himself even harder. “This is something I’d like to prove for myself,” he said. “This is something I needed to do. It’s about getting back to normalcy.”>
Donate to Brian Hussey or others r Checks can be made payable to the Pan-Mass Challenge r If you are sponsoring a rider, include a note indicating who it is. r Send checks to PMC, 77 Fourth Ave., Needham, MA 02494 —– To see more of The Eagle-Tribune or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.eagletribune.com/. Copyright (c) 2008, The Eagle-Tribune, North Andover, Mass. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For reprints, email [email protected], call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA.
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