One man and one bike are continuing a cross-country journey to raise awareness following a life-altering situation.
William Galloway is finishing his seventh cross-country trip in three years on a recumbent tricycle. The journey began 15 years ago, when he was 43-years-old, and riding a bicycle in a crosswalk in his home state of New Jersey and was hit by a drunk driver that caused a traumatic brain injury. After that incident, Galloway tells Raccoon Valley Radio he was in assisted living for seven years and in group homes for an additional four years. The injury causes Galloway to have seizures and has trouble remembering things.
However, with Galloway’s condition that at times makes him have to lay down to prevent headaches and seizures from happening, he says it was difficult for him to keep a job because his employer wasn’t understanding. Galloway found out about the Amen Clinic in California that offered treatment options that he felt he wasn’t getting in the other places, so he packed up his life and decided to make his maiden voyage to California some three years ago.
The 58-year-old says he received lots of support from people he never spoke to, all because of his journey that he’s on for awareness of people with brain injuries. He recalls one encounter he had in Utah after he saw some FedEx drivers go by.
“I crashed out for the night, and my fingers got so cold, and my toes got so cold that I had to blow on my clothes just to stay warm. And I said, ‘You got yourself out here, you’ve got to do the best that you can. You’re going to make it, you did everything else, just keep going.’ The next morning I got out there and kept riding. That afternoon, I seen those FedEx drivers going back the other direction. About a couple of hours later, a vehicle pulls up (alongside me) and the lady says, ‘I ain’t looking for a hot date, I married one and he’s worried about you.’ And I said, ‘What are you talking about?’ She said, ‘I got some hot food for you.’ I go, ‘But I never talked to nobody.’ She says, ‘the FedEx driver?’ I say, ‘Yeah,’ She says, ‘One of them is my husband.’”
Galloway stopped in Jefferson last week on his way back to the east coast, and even took an offer from an individual in Glidden to sleep in his backyard on an air mattress. He says before he started criss-crossing the country, he was on medications for high blood pressure and was overweight, now is down 50-pounds and is no longer on medications. He says he’s not looking for pity but for people to realize there are people with medical conditions looking for treatment and help and he wants people to be aware of those individuals and listen to their stories. You can contact Galloway via email with information that can be found below.
fundraiser3000@gmail.com
720-829-2738