Hunter Johnson: Reflection on the Ride

For Hunter’s second post, click here.

Wow!  What an ending as the DaVita Riders and KAT Walkers simultaneously finished their events at Team Music City.  Hundreds, if not thousands, of walkers, riders, and supporters celebrated in the success of the Kidney TRUST.  The DaVita Community spearheaded the drive to raise awareness and testing of chronic kidney disease with a whopping $700,000 in donations for the Tour DaVita, and KAT Walk conducted in 55 towns and cities throughout the United States.  

We sincerely extend our thanks to our many contributors, consisting of family, friends, patients, and even total strangers who believed in our efforts to make a change in people’s lives.  Special thanks also go out to the communities of Sheffield, AL; Collinwood, TN; Lawrenceburg, TN; Columbia, TN and Brentwood, TN, who welcomed us with open arms.  In addition, the hundreds of DaVita team supports were truly amazing in their encouragement and support of the riders throughout our four day ride.  Our helmet’s are off to Team DaVita, you are truly special! 

Participating in Tour DaVita as a spouse was an exceptionally moving experience, no pun intended, as we completed over 240 miles or rode as far as we could possibly ride.  On behalf of all the spouses who participated in Tour DaVita, I wish to extend my sincere appreciation to the leadership team of DaVita for including spouses in this event.  Not only was this a “Ride of a Lifetime,” but it was an amazing event we could share with our spouses.  We will always remember the “Spirit of the Ride” and the lives we touched and those who touched us.  

Thanks a million, and we will do our part to recognize the First Annual Tour DaVita and KAT Walk are over, but the journey has just begun to promote chronic kidney disease awareness and support the Kidney TRUST.  We extend a thousand kudos to Team DaVita!!

Sincerely,

Hunter and Diann Johnson

Current Location: Brentwood, TN

Saturday, September 15 at 10 am

 

At Lawrenceburg Dialysis Center

 

Michael Peterson performs for the riders

To see more Tour DaVita photos, visit the flickr site by clicking here!

Dawn Wilson: Day Two

For Dawn’s blog of day one, click here.

This is the second installment from Dawn from Virginia. We started out early with a delicious and nutritious breakfast provided by the VFW of Collinwood. One of my most memorable moments was chatting with a gentleman who had served in Korea and Vietnam, and is still serving his community through many community projects. Everyone we met from the town was so gracious and accommodating that I felt I was back home.

The hills and valleys of Tennessee are unbelievably picturesque and clean. I did not see one piece of trash or fallen tree on the Trace, which communicates the dedication of these small-town citizens to the environment. When we returned to the Trace, every single motorist I encountered gave notice of our presence and several even “hollered out” encouragement as we struggled through the hills (And there are a lot of hills, folks!).

We arrived at Lawrenceburg to a rousing reception at the dialysis center. The Lawrenceburg High School band provided an impressive greeting concert of songs, which motivated us more than those young people could imagine. They granted our mayor the honor of accompanying them on an impromptu performance of one of his theme songs.

We had the privilege of touring Lawrenceburg Dialysis Center and meeting the patients. When several thanked me for riding on this tour, the whole reason for riding was made evident. That motivation was reinforced by hearing the stories of several patients, as well as an articulate and inspirational story by one of our DaVita nurses who donated a kidney to a patient. My legs are sore but my spirit is restored by the Tour DaVita!

Current Location: Columbia, TN

Friday, September 14 at noon

Hunter Johnson: Day Two

For Hunter’s blog of day one, click here.

Greetings, family and friends of the DaVita Moving Village!  I decided today that this is not a ride of a lifetime, but a journey of a lifetime!  The ride does not end with our arrival to Nashville or the KAT Walk, but what we bring from this trip to our home and centers throughout the United States. 

I was touched by the patients of Lawrenceburg and had the opportunity to thank them for their support. I was amazed they were overwhelmed by the DaVita Village and our efforts to increase kidney awareness and bring hope to patient lives so no one else will suffer from chronic kidney disease.  

One rider that I found to be a great inspiration today was Scott, a quadriplegic who rode the second stage of Tour DaVita much like the first stage: with a lot of grit and determination on his hand bike.  He used his upper body strength to propel him along this journey as I took for granted my legs and upper body to get me through the trip. 

Members of the DaVita family like Scott provide great inspiration and the true meaning of what we are here to do today, and that is change people’s lives.  DaVita does this on a daily basis and I find this truly amazing. I am humbled to participate in the Ride of a Lifetime in support of our patients and the DaVita community.

Cheers, Hunter and Diann

Seth Robins, Patient Care Technician, Durango, CO

Day one (The learn-how-to-ride-a-bike all over again day)

The day began with a mixture of excitement, fear, and anticipation, and culminated with excitement, joy, and a great deal of exhaustion. There is not a soul in our tent city who did not finish the day with a sense of pride and accomplishment that would rival the most gifted athletes. It’s incredible to see the sense of pride that only perseverance brings to everybody’s faces, and remember that this is only day one.

As the day continued, everybody seemed to get into their groove and to find their niche within this Moving Village. You could tell on their faces that as the legs churned the mind was churning even faster as to how they were going to pull this week off.

The fear of the unknown, which tomorrow is, can be daunting. Yet every teammate seems up to the challenge and ready to embrace it when it finally arrives. If tomorrow is half of what today was, and we know it will be so much more, then although it will be full of cramping legs and sore shoulders, the energy at the camp will be electric.

The aura of community is hands down the most visible element of this Tour, people helping people, encouragement as plentiful as the humidity is obsessive. At least it is for this boy from Colorado.

I saw only one incident, when James Hann from the Casa was trying to recreate the Chariots of Fire running on the beach scene. With hands off the handle bars he was doing well…until he lost control and slammed into the pavement. A few abrasions here, a cut there, and he has an instant campfire tale that will be passed on to the future Tour DaVita generations to come.

Being the first day it’s difficult to know what to expect of the next, but the one thing that is obvious is that no matter how exhausted everyone is, the excitement will more than overcome it!

Mary Nicholson, dietitian, Long Beach, CA

I am a renal dietitian and have worked on and off with hemodialysis patients for 30 years. I have wanted to do a bike tour for 20 years, but the time was never right with family and kids. My son is now 31 and had his first child in May. I called him in May and told him that DaVita was holding a 230 mile bike ride in September and I was thinking about signing up for it as my fifty-fifth birthday present to myself. I asked him if he thought I could do it. Keep in mind that I’ve ridden my bike for thirty years as my main form of exercise. However, my rides were normally only 8 to 10 miles in length a few days a week. He assured me that he knew I had the drive to do the ride. He asked me if he could do the ride with me. We use to do mini-triathlons together when he was a teenager.

This is an example of how great DaVita is, because they gave me permission to get my son involved as my significant other. He’s been married for eight years and it was a great opportunity for me to reconnect with him while I was giving back to all my patients I have served over the years. I wanted to do something to help prevent people from needing dialysis, by getting an early diagnosis and through education about identifying early symptoms and knowing they are a person of high risk due to hypertension or diabetes.

In my efforts to educate the public, I made a personal commitment to pass out 1,200 flyers about the Kidney TRUST, and another 300 flyers about DaVita’s Kidney Education and You (KEY) program. I went to businesses, bike shops, police departments, even my optometrist. I went door to door passing out flyers and telling people about Tour DaVita and the Kidney TRUST. It was an honor to do this, but I didn’t realize the commitment I had made. I have literally eaten, slept, and breathed the DaVita mission for three months.

In addition to working full time, doing a public education effort, and fundraising, I actually found time to train properly for the ride. As a result, I think this first day of the ride has been much easier for me than most. I trained all three months and 1,500 miles. This first day of the ride was exciting. I took my time and really enjoyed the experience. I was one of the last riders in because I got lost and rode an extra 5 miles today. I had to backtrack and find out where I made my wrong turn. I didn’t get to build bikes with my other teammates, but at least I arrived at the end of the ride in time to see all the kids get new bikes and to hear how DaVita was giving to the school, which was providing us a location to rest our heads on our first night.

Looking forward to tomorrow’s ride! Thanks everyone. I will update you tomorrow.

Hunter Johnson, North Highlands, CA

Hi, I’m the lucky one on this ride, as my wife Diann Johnson is a DaVita Preceptor with thirty years experience as a Patient Care Tech. After she attended a National Meeting in May, she came home with a hair-brained idea to participate in the Tour DaVita. Initially I thought she was a bit crazy, but after some reflection I agreed to join her in training and become a guest of Team DaVita, and meet a whole new Village of family and friends.

Our inspiration for the ride has been the patients Diann serves and the many generous friends and coworkers who contributed their hard-earned dollars to give us an opportunity to participate in the ride of a lifetime! Yesterday we celebrated our twenty-fifth wedding anniversary and I can not imagine a better opportunity to reflect on our blessings and focus our attention on giving back to the community.

So today was a reflection of community, and I had the distinct opportunity to be an outsider looking in, and was amazed by the spirit, caring, and camaraderie of Team DaVita. This was only a starting point for the warmth and kindness we experienced today as DaVita reached out to the communities of Sheffield and Collinwood and they reached back and touched our hearts!

I literally had a huge lump in my throat and my heart was full of humility as the entire town of Collinwood greeted us on the completion of our tour. The cheerleaders and football players rushing to the fence to cheer us was an overwhelming moment as we completed day one of Tour DaVita. I am sure my sentiments are felt by the entire DaVita Village and we will cherish these moments forever. My sincere thanks go to all the support from town people, DaVita Red Shirts, and the Backroads’ crew.

Working as a team with the kids of Collinwood to assemble bikes for children of the community culminated the day and the smiles on the kids faces were priceless. We look with great anticipation toward day 2…it is without a doubt the ride of a lifetime. Thank you for the memories!