FINALLY, someone doing something nice for someone!
Posted: Fri Dec 05, 2003 7:10 pm
Some people just talk about making a difference...but others walk their talk.
A man on a mission to fight cancer takes that literally. WAVY News 10 caught up with him in Virginia Beach, before he makes his way across America, on foot.
Jim Hickey is walking across America to raise money to fight cancer. It's a very personal cause. In 1995, Hickey lost his father to prostate cancer.
"I'm walking from Virginia Beach to Los Angeles for cancer research in memory of my dad," says Hickey.
"I've tried this twice before, it doesn't make sense. I quit my job, sold my car. I've got to carry this thing on my back all the time."
Everywhere Hickey walks though, people help him on his journey. In turn, he finds a local cancer victim for which to raise money.
"While I'm in the Virginia Beach/Chesapeake area, I heard about a little boy named Brian Redifor who has cancer and he has 27 more treatments to go," says Hickey. "So I'm dedicating my walk through this area to Brian."
Along the way, Hickey has raised thousands of dollars and his ultimate goal is to help find a cure.
But at four miles per hour, it is a journey that will take a year - and it can get very discouraging.
Hickey says it's during those times that he thinks about his Dad.
"Seeing what my Dad went through, that's what keeps me going," says Hickey. "Every time I feel like giving this up, I think of people who are fighting cancer or are in the hospital. They can't quit."
A man on a mission to fight cancer takes that literally. WAVY News 10 caught up with him in Virginia Beach, before he makes his way across America, on foot.
Jim Hickey is walking across America to raise money to fight cancer. It's a very personal cause. In 1995, Hickey lost his father to prostate cancer.
"I'm walking from Virginia Beach to Los Angeles for cancer research in memory of my dad," says Hickey.
"I've tried this twice before, it doesn't make sense. I quit my job, sold my car. I've got to carry this thing on my back all the time."
Everywhere Hickey walks though, people help him on his journey. In turn, he finds a local cancer victim for which to raise money.
"While I'm in the Virginia Beach/Chesapeake area, I heard about a little boy named Brian Redifor who has cancer and he has 27 more treatments to go," says Hickey. "So I'm dedicating my walk through this area to Brian."
Along the way, Hickey has raised thousands of dollars and his ultimate goal is to help find a cure.
But at four miles per hour, it is a journey that will take a year - and it can get very discouraging.
Hickey says it's during those times that he thinks about his Dad.
"Seeing what my Dad went through, that's what keeps me going," says Hickey. "Every time I feel like giving this up, I think of people who are fighting cancer or are in the hospital. They can't quit."