We are in the mountains and the cycles are very slow climbing the steep grades.

On Thursday we were cycling to Hope BC and inadvertently made an error and turned onto the wrong road.

I was the chase vehicle and when I came up to Charlie’s and Les’ position they asked me where they were.

Jokingly I told them they were beyond Hope meaning that they screwed up on the route and missed Hope but I also joke a lot with Charlie and I implied that he was beyond hope but implying in other ways.

This is the kind of friendly banter Charlie and I have passed back and forth since we became friends.

As I drove along in the support van I thought about the four men on the road riding to bring awareness to the amazing science being developed by the talented research team at McMaster University Hospital.

Here in front of me rode four men all with spinal cord injuries doing the impossible to make others aware of the problems associated with not being able to walk.

They all got to this position through accidents that could have been prevented and they all had No Hope of recovery from their permanent injuries.

I can’t imagine living without being able to walk and it would be even more difficult to have to accept life without being able to use your hands or legs. Yet these amazing men I am associated with do just that.

Now back to our chance visit to hope. Here we found ourselves beyond hope the exact predicament that these four athletes found themselves in after their spinal cords were severed in accidents. This is because once the spinal cord is severed it will not normally repair itself and the accident victim finds that he is saddled to a wheelchair for the rest of his life with No Hope of recovery.

But this is no longer true and the Doctors at McMaster University Hospital under the direction and guidance of Dr Michael Rathbone have made an amazing discovery.

By taking the nerve ending cells from our own stomach utilizing about 6 inches of intestine and culturing these cells to regenerate into the spinal cord cells needed to regrow a type of patch through the severed area and then using a molecule that already exists in our own bodies Dr Rathbone Dr Jiang and staff were able to regenerate spinal cord tissue in injured rats.

Even more amazing the team at McMaster found a way to regenerate the outer insulation that protects the inner spinal cord nerve cells allowing them to develop fully.

So my Message at our News Release in Hope BC today was that spinal cord injury victims now have hope. They have hope for their future. The hope to walk again and hope that no one else will ever be chained for life to a wheel chair like they are.

Hope BC is a beautiful city and the people there were kind, considerate and extremely friendly and helpful.

We met outside the town hall with the mayor Wilfred Vicktor and an employee of the city Ian williams as well.

We explained our mission to spread awareness of the scientific breakthrough in spinal cord regeneration and the need for an enormous amount of money to do it.

We also challenged the comminity to get together and donate at least the equivalence of 30 cents per citizen to Wheel to Walk Canada.

Mayor Victor was very straightforward,friendly and compassionate and offered to get involved.

People like Mayor Wilfred Vicktor from Hope give us hope and I could not think of a nicer place in Canada to convey that message.

So in Hope even though up until now all persons with severed spinal cords were beyond Hope or had no Hope of recovery we announced that we now have Hope thanks to the diligent scientific research being conducted by the Doctors at McMaster Medical Sciences Center in Hamilton Ontario Canada.

Remember because of these doctors’ resolve, dedication and hard work persons like the four simple messengers in chairs crossing Canada with their message will be able to Walk Again “just like the rats.”

Thank you Mayor Vicktor and all of the people who cheered and honked today as you passed us on the highway.

Rememberin Hope today we declared that due to this amazing science everyone in a chair can have Hope to be able to walk again just like the lab rats at McMaster Medical  Center.

Jim Anderson, Road Manager,wheel to walk Canada cell 905 869 6125