[BobbyB]

Riding to remedy debilitating disease


VMS students ride from Boston to N.Y. for Lou Gehrig’s Disease research




From Left Wes Batts, Rob Fitz, Hilarie Bellis, Kaitlin Zdechlik, Ande Brill, Betsy Batts, Matt White and Tony Ryerson rode their bikes from Boston to New York in July for VMS for ALS, which raises money for Lou Gehrig's Disease, a terminal disease that destroys nerves that control muscles so they can no longer function. A father of their classmate, John Bellis, died in 2006 at age 46 due to ALS. The group is still seeking funds for their efforts.
Preston Utley/Vail Daily



Edward Stoner
Vail, CO Colorado
September 5, 2007

VAIL — Ande Brill hopes she’ll see a cure for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis in her lifetime.

Scientists have a ways to go. There is no cure. There are few treatments. Even the cause of the disease is unclear.

Brill, 16, has already been close to the cruel, terminal disease, also called Lou Gehrig’s Disease. John Bellis, a family friend and a father of a classmate of Brill’s at Vail Mountain School, died of ALS in 2006, at age 46.

Brill and seven of her classmates from Vail Mountain School were part of a three-day, 270-mile bike ride last month from Boston to New York to raise money and awareness for ALS. They also wanted to support the Bellis family and honor the memory of John Bellis.

To help
VMS for ALS is seeking donations for ALS research.

Donations should be made out and sent to:

ALS TDI
c/o VMS for ALS
P.O. Box 581
Edwards, CO 81632

The students have created a fund-raising group called VMS for ALS, and hope to ride in the race for years to come.

“If we can get the word out there and put together a big team for next year, we can really help try and find a cure,” Brill said.

Wes Batts, 18, a senior, organized the student group.

“I just kind of went to school and said, ‘I’m really interested in this race, and is there anyone who wants to do it?’ and we had a great turnout,” he said.

The ride, called the Tri State Trek, is an annual fundraiser that attracts hundreds of bikers.

The Vail kids toured the ALS Therapy Development Institute, the world’s largest research program for the disease. The money the students are raising goes to that program.

“It was really an eye-opening experience to see how costly the research for this disease is,” Batts said.

The bike ride was strenuous, said Matt White, a junior.

“I felt like I was ready, but it was still pretty tough,” he said. “It was really fun, taking our time, cruising along, making new friends. It was really cool.”

The highlight of the ride for White was seeing people who actually have ALS cross the finish line.

VMS students Robert Fitz, Tony Ryerson and Kaitlin Zdechlik, along with parents David White and Pete Brill, also rode their bikes in the event. Betsy Batts, a student, and Dianne Batts, a parent, were part of the support crew.

John Bellis’ wife, Suzanne, and his daughter Hilarie were along for the ride, too, to support the bike riders.

“I’m just overwhelmed with the support that they’ve shown my family,” Suzanne Bellis said. “It’s just incredible that they’re willing to train and take time away from their summers and do all this to honor my husband and my family to bring awareness to this horrible disease.”

John Bellis was healthy at age 43 when went out for a jog, and his foot wasn’t quite working right. A doctor misdiagnosed it as a pulled muscle. The problem got progressively worse. He had ALS.

After the diagnosis, the Bellises moved from Texas to Eagle County, where they had vacationed for years. They wanted to go to a supportive community that would be a great place to raise a family.

“It’s turned out to be better than we ever expected,” Suzanne Bellis said.

John Bellis died in June 2006.

“John was an amazing man who fought this disease with great courage,” Suzanne Bellis said. “Out of honor and respect to him, you just realize that you can face life’s adversities and almost make it an opportunity to teach others that you can get through these adversities and even rally through them by support from others.”

The group is seeking donations for ALS research, and hopes to do the bike ride again next year.

“We’re trying to make it an annual thing,” Wes Batts said.


Staff Writer Edward Stoner can be reached at 748-2929 or estoner@vaildaily.com.
http://www.vaildaily.com/article/20070905/NEWS/70905023