I would like to share some news and make a request I have never made before. In December my mother-in-law, Denise’s mom Sharon Lencki, was diagnosed with an aggressive form of cancer – stage 4 Lymphoma.  Five months of chemotherapy weakened her body and necessitated multiple blood transfusions to help her fight the battle and bring her back from a debilitating state. Denise even made a direct donation of her own type O negative blood to support the effort.

I’m thrilled to report that the treatments have been absolutely miraculous and Sharon is now feeling like she has been given a new lease on life! And now for my request.  …and it’s not for your money. I want your blood! In order to help repay the generosity of the anonymous donors who selflessly gave blood to help save Sharon’s life and others, I’m asking you to do the same.

My goal is to collect 104 units of blood (or platelets if you prefer) representing every mile I will be racing in the Leadville 100 mountain bike race in Colorado on August 12th.  Although it is known as the toughest single-day bike race in North America, it’s nothing in comparison to the uphill battle for survival that cancer patients like Sharon face every day.  If you have donated blood before, thank you and please consider donating again for my campaign.  If you’ve never donated you will find it’s easy to do and is rewarding in many ways.   Please take a photo of yourself at the donor center and share on social media with #Blood2FightCancer.

Thank you!

Paul Fejtek

@PaulFejtek