Caninexus: A Story of Overcoming Adversity You Should Know
Raquel Castillo is a born fighter. About five years ago, she overcame Hodgkin's lymphoma with lung involvement, and together with her dog Tom, she has just achieved a new charitable challenge called Caninexus. It involves the well-known Pirinexus route, linking the Costa Brava with the Eastern Pyrenees, but this time on a mountain bike, in bikepacking mode, and towing Tom along.
"When I fell ill in 2014, it not only changed my life or my partner's life, but Tom also stopped playing as he always did to spend long days by my side, keeping me company day and night. I remember the doctors advised me to stop seeing my dog to avoid contracting any viruses or bacteria while my immune system was weak... I could never follow that recommendation; sadness would have overcome me. Without knowing it, Tom became my little guardian angel, living for the sole purpose of being by my side. An unbreakable bond formed between us, an unheard-of pact of friendship."
Shortly after Raquel's recovery, Tom began to experience joint problems; his arthritis prevented him from enjoying those long mountain treks. In 2018, a degenerative retinal problem began to rob him of his sight until he became completely blind. "My dog's unexpected blindness forged a great unstoppable team. For that reason, just as he pulled me through my toughest moments, this time we will join forces to undertake a charitable challenge. Caninexus, a great adventure of over 350 kilometers with 3,500 meters of elevation gain, in collaboration with RideForHer and benefiting the Josep Carreras Foundation to set a date for the cure of leukemia and other blood cancers."
RideForHer Cycling & Cancer is a nonprofit organization that carries out solidarity actions through cycling for oncological research, to improve the quality of life for people diagnosed with cancer, and for gender equality.
With the Caninexus challenge, the aim is to pay tribute to all those furry companions who help so much in overcoming or coping with a serious illness such as leukemia. Because they take care of the aspect that medicine pays the least attention to... that aspect that always comes in small print but is no less important, that aspect that comes hand in hand with the deepest and most sincere love, that aspect that takes care of the emotional part.
Let's set a date for the cure of leukemia and other blood cancers. Will you help make it possible? You too can contribute your bit.
#TomIsUnstoppable #Caninexus
More stories:
Laissez un commentaire