On June 10, the 6th Annual “Tour da Cape” 100 mile bike ride benefiting Dream Day on Cape Cod, will be joined by Tom Smith, 20, a courageous role model for all the special kids who will have the chance to attend Camp Nan-Ke-Rafe in Brewster this summer. In the past five years, riders have raised more than $20,000 for the camp. Tom, who was paralyzed following two separate traumatic spinal cord injuries, will ride his wheel chair bicycle from the Bourne service road to Dennis in the final and most challenging leg of the Needham to Dennis bike ride. Proceeds from this ride go directly to the camp which has opened its cabin doors at no cost to hundreds of deserving families over the years.
With his can-do attitude, Tom is the ideal role model for the seriously ill children and their families who attend the Dream Day camp Nan-Ke-Rafe. The camp’s mission is to provide a respite from trips to the hospital, doctor visits, chemotherapy treatments, and the other stresses associated with illness. As he rides his wheelchair bicycle along the Cape roads on June 10, Tom will demonstrate his strength of spirit, and his determination never to quit.
Tom’s own dream of becoming a professional hockey player was shattered, but he refuses to indulge in self-pity, instead directing his energies to a new mission of advocacy for spinal cord injury patients. In the hospitals where he received treatment, Tom says he “met the most courageous people whose hopes still shine bright despite being challenged by overwhelming physical disabilities.” Inspired by their optimism, Tom promised himself “not to whine, not to complain, and not to quit.”
Tom has kept his promise. Doctors told him that he would be wheelchair bound following the first hockey accident that sent him headfirst into the boards in August, 2008, seriously damaging his cervical spine. Determined to prove the doctors wrong, Tom spent eight grueling hours each day in therapy, month after month, regaining his strength. His “no whining, no quitting” pledge served him well. A year later, he returned triumphantly to the hockey rink to play the game he loved most.
However, in October, 2009, during hockey practice, Tom’s skates caught those of a teammate, and Tom hit the right side of his head on the boards, this time injuring his thoracic vertebrae. Paralysis now confines Tom to a wheelchair, but he feels luckier than most. He says, “Every day that I go to therapy, I see a person who is worse off than I am.” He plans to create a foundation that will serve spinal-cord research, awareness and well-being. In the meantime, he has been a motivational speaker at colleges and universities.
The 100 mile Tour-da-Cape ride that Tom will join starts in Needham, continues through Westwood, Canton, Bridgewater, Middleboro, Carver, Onset, Bourne, Hyannis, and Yarmouth, and ends in Dennis. The terrain consists of well paved back roads, with a scenic ride through cranberry bogs, and along the Cape Cod canal, with the most challenging stretch being the hilly terrain encountered after the seventy mile mark. Upon reaching the finish line, the bikers will gather for a celebratory meal at Oliver’s Restaurant in Yarmouth.
Cyclists interested in joining this remarkable Dream Day on Cape Cod fundraising event should contact Tour da Cape’s founder, John Hennessey @ jah@nesecurity.com. Those interested in learning more about or contributing to Dream Day on Cape Cod should visit www.DreamDayonCapeCod.org
-submitted by Board Member JoAnn Phillips
