I rode my bike this morning to work. I ride every day—a
whopping 3 miles round-trip!
Dr. Greg Crawford, Dean of the College of Science at the University
of Notre Dame, rode his bike this morning, too. He’s also been riding every
day.
The difference between the two of us is that over the past
couple weeks he’s been dealing with incredible winds in his face, high speed
traffic rushing by, and he has had to traverse one of the nation’s major
mountain chains. And I suppose he’s not
riding to an office. He’s riding to a cure.
Dr. Crawford is spending his summer vacation combining three
of Notre Dame’s strongest attributes—research, service, and sports—to make a
real difference in the world. He is riding across the United States on a
bicycle to raise money and promote awareness for research to prevent and cure
Niemann-Pick disease Type C (NP-C), a fatal disease found in children. He left
Boston May 21, and will arrive in Pebble Beach, CA on June 22, to meet up with
former ND Football Coach Ara Parseghian, who has lost three grandchildren to
the disease, and who founded a foundation to support NP-C research.
If you read about NP-C you’ll find sadness. The disease is
described as “always fatal,” it affects children almost exclusively, and there
is no cure. Reading outlooks like these is overwhelming and makes me ask “Why
is there so much suffering in the world?” The outlooks make Dr. Crawford ask
something different: “How can I prevent this?”
Dr. Crawford has been blessed with an incredible mind, a
giving heart, and a body equipped to handle the wear of long-distance biking.
Many people with those gifts are content to be a solid researcher, spouse, and
adventurer. Crawford is combining these three gifts to save lives. Many dream
of a world without NP-C; Crawford is taking steps to make that dream a reality.
Dr. Crawford’s “Road to Discovery” is yet another
demonstration of how a Champion in athletics can be a leader for real change in
our world. Anyone who has gone through
any kind of grueling sports experience can identify with the sacrifice that Dr.
Crawford is making. Although we may not be able to fathom the feeling of riding
160 miles in a single day, the immensity of his goal stirs up questions in us
as to what kind of madness would drive him to take on this challenge.
And my guess is that it is madness that is driving him. We
live in a world that has seen people walk on the moon, dive to the depths of
the ocean, and travel at the speed of sound. Yet parents still have to go to
the doctor and learn that child has a disease, and they can do nothing to heal
them. Is that not madness? I’ll bet Dr.
Crawford thinks so.
To follow Dr. Crawford's journey, or to learn about how to donate to his fundraising effort, check out his blog at roadtodiscovery.nd.edu.
To follow Dr. Crawford's journey, or to learn about how to donate to his fundraising effort, check out his blog at roadtodiscovery.nd.edu.
