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Daang---
He was in my town and I did not even know it, till it was too late. I would
have joined him until my batteries ran out.
HEY YOU GUYS OUT THERE. Call that number and see if he is coming to your area
and see if you can get a real PARADE GOING, OK?
Oh, if you do, I bet he would appreciate some ice cream or coke float,----it
is really hot here on this area of Texas right now.
Bob from Houston
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Date: Fri, 5 Jun 1998 11:59:48 -0400
Reply-To: Spinal Cord Injury Peer Net <scipin-l(AT)health.state.ny.us>
Sender: Spinal Cord Injury Peer Net <scipin-l(AT)health.state.ny.us>
From: Spinal Cord Injury Peer Net <scipin-l(AT)health.state.ny.us>
X-From: Maxim Bily <imax(AT)ODYSSEE.NET>
Subject: Man takes his cause, wheels on the road
X-To: Spinal Cord Injury Peer Net
<scipin-l(AT)albnydh2.health.state.ny.us>
To: Multiple recipients of list SCIPIN-L <scipin-l(AT)health.state.ny.us>
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Man takes his cause, wheels
on the road
By Elaine Aradillas
Express-News Staff Writer
He doesn't have an air conditioner to keep him cool or a
CD
player to make his drive across the country enjoyable.
Instead, 41-year-old Ken Cummings endures the hot Texas
sun and listens to the whirring sounds of his motorized
wheelchair.
"It's killing me this year. It's been almost 100 degrees
every
day," he said.
Cummings, a quadriplegic, is traveling
across the country for the fourth time
to raise money and awareness for
spinal cord injuries.
He travels about 100 miles each day
in his purple paint-chipped
wheelchair. His three-member staff
tries to keep him cool using water
and icy towels.
A staff member quit the team
Tuesday due to a conflict and two
replacements were en route.
"I'm a tough boss. Heat and lack of
sleep drives them crazy," he said.
"It's hot and it makes you cranky."
Cummings left Jacksonville Beach,
Fla., May 18 and hopes to arrive in his hometown of San
Diego by June 19.
He expects to leave today for Segovia (near Junction),
about 100 miles northwest of here.
Cummings said he was competitive even before he lost
feeling in his arms and legs in a 1982 diving accident.
If he meets his goal, the 32-day trek across the country
will
set a personal record. He hopes to raise a $1 million
from
donations and corporate sponsorships but thinks $250,000
is
more likely.
As a quadriplegic, Cummings realizes he's done more for
others than if he didn't suffer from disabilities.
"I've dedicated my life to a cause instead of to myself.
If
this hadn't happened to me, I'd be a jerk," Cummings
said.
Actor Christopher Reeve suffers from the same condition
as Cummings, but at a higher level. Cummings says the
actor has focused more attention on the cause.
He met Reeve briefly and understands what the actor is
going through.
"Inside his heart is stress that's killing him," he said,
but
added the public will see "this guy is Superman."
Cummings hopes he'll see a cure during his lifetime.
Until
then, he refuses to give up.
"I know I'm a fighter and I'll keep fighting. And maybe
I'll
win."
He collects tax deductible donations for the San Diego
Community Foundation, which can be reached at (619)
235-2300.
"People need to know there's a cure for everything. It
just
takes time and money," he said.
Wednesday, June 3, 1998
-- Maksim (Max) Bilymail to: imax(AT)odyssee.net
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