Tucson dad honors premature baby with 3,000-mile benefit bike ride
by Heidi Rowley on Oct. 04, 2008, under Family, Local, SpecialStoic Riley Simpson remembered by dad, Wes Simpson
Wes Simpson plans to ride his bicycle 3,000 miles in the next month in the memory of his son, who died at birth, and to raise money for the March of Dimes.
Tucsonan Wes Simpson, 38, was amazed at the technology that allowed his wife to become pregnant, but was shocked to learn medical science could do nothing to help Penny, 34, when her water broke 18 weeks early.
Stoic Riley Simpson died in the arms of his parents Sept. 2 at The Fetal Treatment Center in San Francisco.
Thursday morning, the Simpsons commemorated what would have been their son’s first month on Earth, with Wes setting out on a 70-mile bike ride to raise money for the March of Dimes. He plans to cover 3,000 miles in the next 30 to 35 days.
“The March of Dimes has been around forever and they are really trying to fight this preterm birth,” he said. “The work that the March of Dimes is doing is near and dear to our hearts, so I wanted to do something to help.”
The Simpsons’ baby was born at 24 weeks and weighed less than 2 pounds. His parents had traveled from Tucson to the hospital in San Francisco, where mom and baby underwent an experimental procedure that successfully cured Stoic’s rare lung condition, C-CAM, which is a tumor.
Wes said his son’s name means “strong and lucky” and fits their tiny boy because he defied the odds when he was conceived through in vitro fertilization and overcame the lung tumor.
But for some unknown reason, Penny’s water broke too early for Stoic to live outside the womb, Wes said. The baby wasn’t due until Dec. 18.
The Simpsons moved to Tucson three years ago and will celebrate their second wedding anniversary in November.
They have undergone two in vitro fertilization procedures. The first resulted in a miscarriage; the second, Stoic.
“We don’t know how many more opportunities we’ll have to try again,” Wes said. “It’s stressful, expensive and we’re running out of time.”
Still in mourning and looking for some way to do something, he came up with the idea to ride his bike and raise money.
“I thought this would be something that would be helpful and cathartic,” Wes said.
He contacted the March of Dimes, who loved his idea and helped him set up a donation link on his Web site: 3000milesforbaby.com.
Because Penny was worried about her husband riding across country, an estimated distance of about 3,000 miles, they figured out a way for him to ride all 3,000 miles exclusively in Pima County.
Each day, Wes will ride a different route and will gradually increase the number of miles he rides. On his first day, he rode 70 miles, to Oracle and back.
Wes will update his Web site daily with his future routes, his experiences while riding and the amount of money raised for the March of Dimes.
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On the Web
Wes Simpson’s Web site:
