This Sunday, bikers can take a scenic ride around the Sebago region to raise awareness and hopefully money for Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis (IPF) research. Each year 40,000 people die from Pulmonary Fibrosis and Betty Jo Cash wants to find a way to stop this disease that directly affected her family when her father was diagnosed in 2013.
“I
don’t want other families to go through what my family is going through,” Betty
Jo said.
Betty
Jo was approached by a woman who had organized a ride for IPF. She asked Cash
to hold one in honor of Cash’s father, David Watts. Watts, a 68-year-old Windham
resident, was okay with having the ride, but he wanted the money to go to
research for a cure for the disease that was stealing his breath. September is
pulmonary awareness month, so the perfect time to hold a fundraising ride.
IPF
is a “relentless scarring process of the lung that leaves the patient unable to
breathe. PF remains untreatable and terminal.” By not breathing, the oxygen is
not moved around the body, delivering needed nutrients to the heart, brain and
other vital organs.
Watts
is on a breathing machine 24/7. He has a portable machine he calls “his
girlfriend,” but that only gives him three hours of air before he has to return
home to recharge it, which takes two hours, he said. “It’s frustrating. This
thing (the tubing) is always hung up on something. It’s in the way.”
His
symptoms were tiring easily and everything was slowing down. “The worst part
was getting diagnosed. It took two and a half years to get diagnosed,” Watts
said. “For seven years he went to the emergency room swearing he was having a
heart attack, but that wasn’t the problem. “They thought I was a
hypochondriac.”
Dr.
Elizabeth North, finally figured it out, he said. “There is nothing they can
do.”
“Dad
is very independent,” said Betty Jo. “Now he can’t raise his heart rate. This
disease diminishes the quality of life.”
Watts
worked at the Brunswick Naval Air Station for 32 years, 20 of those using heavy
equipment. He was also a plow driver for the Town of Windham. Now he is a part
time worker with the Salvation Army. He likes to be busy and has a good sense
of humor.
The
Ride IPF starts at 9 a.m. at the Windham Veteran’s Center. Watts will ride in a
car, but as a motorcycle enthusiast, he will be happy to hear the rumble from
his seat. He misses riding and going to planet fitness to work out. He still
drives and is encouraged to keep working as part of his treatment.
Sunday,
September 21, it will be kickstands up at 11 a.m. There will be speakers
between 10:30 a.m. and 11 a.m. and on the return there will be a barbeque
lunch, music by deBreeze N’ Keys, a live auction and T-shirts for sale. The
ride is free, but donations are greatly appreciated, Cash said.
Bikers
are known for riding for causes. Be it Toys for Tots or against childhood
bullying, bikers do so much for so many,” said Cash’s husband, Norm.
“When
they’re out there rattling your windows, it’s for a reason,” Watts said.
The
initial goal was to have 50 bikes signed up, but now on Facebook there are over
173 signed up.
“It’s
important for me and for everyone to see him. He’s a national hero. This is our
two time Vietnam Vet. See he’s a real person,” Betty Jo said. “We need a cure.
People don’t realize this disease is as prevalent as it is.”
“I
asked my doctor if there was anything in the pipeline for this disease. She
said the Chinese have a good start on something. It wouldn’t be in time for
me,” Watts said.
For
more on the ride visit www.rideIPF.com or visit them on Facebook – Riding for
Pulmonary Fibrosis. For more on IPF, visit www.CoalitionforPF.org. Not a
motorcyclist? Donations can be made directly through either website.
“We
don’t care what you ride,” Betty Jo said. “You can even ride a Schwinn, if you
can keep up.”