It was a momentous mixture of sweet relief and exhilaration as Ben McMillan rode down Mount Lofty, a sign he had completed the mammoth 800.3km charity ride from Melbourne to Adelaide.
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The intense three day journey wasn’t easy; in fact it was fairly brutal in stages. Day one consisted of a whopping 21 hours of cycling, while day two brought with it the wild and windy weather which almost saw event organisers call it quits.
But the mental, physical and emotional demands of the journey “paled in comparison” to what Ben’s nephew, Taylor Lojszczyk has already endured in his short life. And for that, the ride was worth every kilometre.
Ben, along with his family who established the Simply Loving Taylor committee, have raised an amazing $21,000 to help cover Taylor’s ongoing medical costs.
The brave little man lives with a unique condition described as “Undiagnosed Complex Syndrome”.
His diagnosis combines a string of medical conditions including microcephaly, sensory problems, development delay, extensive vertebral body anomalies, inner ear structural anomalies, dysplastic ears and facial asymmetry, sensorineural hearing loss, conductive hearing loss, swallowing abnormalities, speech delay, growth deficiency, sight loss, strabismus, coloboma of the eye, high arch palate, low muscle tone, mobility issues, cryptorchidism and disc drusen.
Days before Christmas, Taylor underwent major surgery to relieve increasing pressure in his skull. Tomorrow, he will make yet another trip down to the Westmead Children’s Hospital where he will hopefully have the metal rod designed to expand his skull removed.
Having spent so much time in Sydney, Taylor’s family will also donate $4,000 to the Westmead Children’s Hospital.
Humbled and grateful, Ben extends thanks to all those who have supported his journey to help Taylor.
“I would like to thank Mark Ferguson, the Cycling Maven, for facilitating this event and allowing me to do it for Taylor,” he said.
“Along with my fellow riders for helping us all get to the end safely, Dincel Construction System - my corporate sponsor and all of the community for supporting me throughout the ride and in turn supporting Taylor with all the amazing donations.”
For those interested in donating to the cause visit https://www.gofundme.com/simply-on-tour-for-taylor
