About Me

Profile

About:

I have a lovely family consisting of my mother, Jill; my father, Phil; my two younger brothers, Eric and Jimmy; and three dogs, Sparky, Casey, and Beaux. I also have a beautiful and loving girlfriend, Danielle. With all of these people who love me and support me, I am the most blessed man on this earth.
I was born and raised in Houston, Texas, USA ”“ except for one year when I was twelve years old, and we moved to Madrid, Spain. Living in Spain was probably one of the most amazing experiences of my life. I was part of the Spanish national little league baseball team. We went to the European Regional Tournament in Kutno, Poland (a small, impoverished town just over an hour outside of Warsaw) where we did not perform to the best of our abilities, but we came out of the tournament having had a once in a lifetime experience and having made some great friends from all over Europe. My baseball career blossomed on my return to the United States when we moved back to Houston, and my life was perfect. Baseball has kind of been my life ever since I started with T-ball at a young age. I’ve played my whole life, and I just love the game.
The best experience of my life ”“ even above living in Spain and playing any amount of baseball ”“ was actually being diagnosed with cancer. Even though cancer halted my baseball career at the end of my junior year of high school, it opened up my life to so many great friendships and experiences. I spent about 8 months undergoing intensive chemotherapy treatments and surgeries, but as of January of 2010, I have been clear of cancer ever since. My experiences in the hospital have led me to be involved in many volunteer efforts for childhood cancer patients and their families.
Through all of the volunteering which I have done, I came to realize the true value of helping people who are less fortunate than we may be ”“ weather it’s because of poverty or a debilitating disease. Because of that, it really solidified my interests in becoming a doctor. By studying pre-medicine in college and hopefully moving on to medical school, I hope to give back all that the medical community has given me and more.

Why I Ride

Throughout the course of my treatment, my oncologist said many things to me, but one thing he said, I will never forget. It was at the funeral of my good friend, Natalia L. After the ceremony was over, we walked outside together and he thanked me for coming, and then he told me, “There are two ways you can live your life. You can live shut off from the world where you never experience any pain or suffering, or you can open your life up to others. While the second option does lead to pain and grief, it also opens up the door to great love and friendship, which can never be truly experienced with the first option.” I have lived by those words ever since. I’ve cried the most I’ve ever cried in my life, but I’ve also loved like never before, and I have made so many true friendships because of his small piece of advice. I believe all of this has led me to be a truly strong individual, and I want to ride 4500 miles to show people how cancer can be conquered with the right mind set and the right people at your back.
I ride for my friends and all of the kids at Texas Children’s Cancer Center who have passed away: Natalia L, Craig B, Preston W, Rosa I, C Boogie, Tre', Laura H, and unfortunately many others. I also ride for my little buddy grant who is still fighting this terrible disease and my friends who have conquered it: Blake L, Thomas H, Caroline, Ty, Jonathon O, Devin D, Presley B, and others. I ride so that hopefully, one day, we can find better, more comfortable treatments and eventually a cure for this terrible disease, so that no one ever has to go through the grief and the pain of a death caused by cancer ever again.