FOOTHILL RANCH, CA (BRAIN)—Oakley's Steve Blick and his family have launched "I Ride For the Kids" (www.irideforthekids.com). A portal of information inspired by sports, “I Ride For the Kids” serves as a resource for families dealing with Pediatric Cancer. Click on title and then "Visit Link" to check it out.
One year ago, July 13, 2010, Steve and Jennifer Blick's four-year-old son Tyler was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia, or ALL /Pre B, a type of blood cancer that forced them to make some pretty quick tough decisions. After his diagnosis, they were quickly
bombarded with many resources, but it became almost impossible to choose, or trust, the right ones.
Steve said, "It wasnʼt until making a phone call to help another family in our shoes that we really felt the need for a place like this to go to."
Steve and Jennifer Blick explain, "'I Ride For The Kids' is not a charity and there isnʼt anything being sold. Itʼs our way of giving back to other families facing a
pediatric cancer diagnosis, and we wanted to share our story and resources that have helped us the past year."
They said that the website itself is still in its infancy, but the powerful resources and tools are what theyʼre hoping to spread to other families who have unfortunately been placed in the same situation as theirs.
"You know, this site isnʼt about one child...it isnʼt even about cancer; it's about our family giving a boost of encouragement and information to other parents who are supporting their child through a hard time," Steve said.
Hard times seemed to be all the Blicks had, which is why the site also publishes “distractions” to keep the mood lighter when things arenʼt going according to plan. Comprised of gadgets, art, and cool sites, these “distractions” not only helped Tyler, but the rest of the Blick family keep their spirits high through the rough patches.
One year later, Tyler is doing well with two-and-a-half years of treatment to go. "Our experience with Tyler, combined with the encouragement and love we have received from others, inspired us to start this site to help people understand what to do if their loved one is diagnosed with cancer," Steve said. “This wouldnʼt be possible without the love and support from our family and friends. There are so many people who have helped us through this, even people who we
donʼt know, and we are so incredibly humbled. We wish that we had a site like this when we were at the beginning of our story, finding ourselves in hospitals with WiFi and wondering which websites would be the most helpful for us.”
Steve explained further that "irideforthekids.com is filled with helpful links needed for the first minute, months, and years of rebuilding a new game plan for families like ours who just had a dynamic change of plan to their daily life."
