Nevus Dad Treks Country on Bike for Nevus Outreach
On July 5th a man and his bike set tires to pavement for a 30 day journey from Portland, Oregon across the USA to Savannah, Georgia to raise awareness about Congenital Melanocytic Nevi and Neurocutaneous Melanocytosis (NCM), rare conditions his son succumbed to at the young age of seven.
Brian Stockbridge is better known in his own community of Shelton, CT and surrounding towns as “The Cheesecake Guy” for the incredible products at his shop, Stockbridge's Cheesecakes. For the month of July Brian is taking off his apron and fulfilling a promise made to his late son to focus on one passion: Nevus Outreach. His son David had a Giant Congenital Nevus - a pigmented birthmark covering a large part of his body. This is an "orphan disease" according to the Food and Drug Administration and the National Institutes of Health - it is so rare that few doctors know anything about it, and few scientists or pharmaceutical companies have any interest in curing it. Nevertheless it can affect one in 20,000 people. Brian's son David died in 1997 because of a proliferation of pigment cells in his brain called Neurocutaneous Melanocytosis - a sometimes-fatal condition related to the giant birthmark on his skin.
The feat Brian is undertaking with this 3,500 mile bike ride across the USA will undoubtedly make the public more aware of Giant Nevi and raise both awareness and much-needed funds in the process. As Brian has said, “To celebrate my 50th year I intend to keep the promise I made to my son and honor his brave battle with his nevus…the cheesecakes can wait a month…this cannot."
Quoting Mark Beckwith, Executive Director of Nevus Outreach, "Brian and I are asking everyone we know to consider pledging at least one cent per mile to Brian's passion: Nevus Outreach. Nevus Outreach is the only organization that specifically funds research into Neurocutaneous Melanocytosis." All of the proceeds from Brian's ride will go directly towards these projects:
Nevus Outreach MRI study - 5.7 cents per mile will cover the cost of expert scientific analysis of the MRIs of one patient with NCM, and hold the results in our international data repository.
Nevus Outreach Genomic Analysis study - 1.4 cents per mile allows us to perform genomic analysis on one sample of tissue from a patient with NCM. The findings could shed light on potential therapies for NCM.
Nevus Outreach tissue bank for NCM - 1.0 cents per mile will cover the cost of transporting and maintaining one tissue sample of one patient with NCM in our international tissue repository.
"Our goal is to raise at least $10,000.00 toward these NCM research projects," Beckwith said. "We are so honored that Brian feels this strongly about supporting our work. We owe Brian a huge debt of thanks, and we owe Brian our support in memory of his courageous son."
Please give generously in memory of Brian's son David Stockbridge by visiting this page. Make sure to indicate on the form that your donation is in honor of Brian and/or in memory of David!
For more information, see ridebrianride.com and also feel free to Contact Us.
Brian's daily destinations:
7/5 The Dalles, OR
7/6 Pendleton, OR
7/7 Baker City, OR
7/8 Cardwell, ID
7/9 Mountain Home, ID
7/10 Burley, ID
7/11 Brigham City, ID
7/12 Evanston, WY
7/13 Vernal, UT
7/14 Rangely, CO
7/15 Glennwood Springs, CO
7/16 Beuna Vista, CO
7/17 Walsenburg, CO
7/18 Clayton, CO
7/19 Amarillo, TX
7/20 Shamrock, TX
7/21 Weatherford, OK
7/22 Purcell, OK
7/23 McAlester, OK
7/24 Mena, AR
7/25 Arkadelphia, AR
7/26 Pine Bluff, AR
7/27 Clarkdale, MS
7/28 Kosciusko, MS
7/29 Livingston, AL
7/30 Greenville, AL
7/31 Eufaula, AL
8/1 Perry, GA
8/2 Metter, GA
8/3 Tybee Island, GA
