Sunday, July 04, 2010

Motorcycle group rides for ringtown woman.


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Image source: Free Pictures of Spain


Motorcycles with names like Harley-Davidson, Honda, Kawasaki, Suzuki and more were lined up along Main Street in Shenandoah on Sunday for a good cause -- helping a young woman and her family deal with current and future medical bills.

The gathering of motorcycles was sponsored by Thunder Road for "New Lungs for Brittany" as part of a number of events to benefit Brittany Zelinsky, 18, of Ringtown, who is in need of a bilateral (double) lung transplant. Zelinsky and her parents, Gina Hart and Len Margaritondo of Ringtown, are waiting for the phone call that compatible lungs have been found for the transplant.
When she was three years old, Zelinsky was diagnosed with a rare lung disease called primary pulmonary hypertension. At the time, the doctors told her parents that she only had a few months to live. However, thanks to a medical research program at Presbyterian/ Columbia University Medical Center in New York, Zelinsky far exceeded the predicted life expectancy so that Zelinsky was graduated earlier this month from North Schuylkill Junior-Senior High School. She will study medical office technology at McCann School of Business and Technology.

Time is taking its toll, and Zelinsky's lungs are malfunctioning to the point where they are causing her heart to enlarge, requiring the lung transplant as soon as possible. As the condition worsens, the heart itself can be damaged.

The motorcycle run idea began with the help of Tammey Piekarsky, Shenandoah Heights, who is Zelinsky's cousin. She approached Thunder Road owners Bob and Ang Babarsky about a fundraiser.

"She (Zelinsky) took sick in January, but she started doing a lot better and went back in March for a checkup," said Piekarsky. "They thought she might be able to come off the transplant list, but they decided to bump her up on the list because her heart started to swell and her aorta started to stiffen."

After the change on the transplant list, Piekarsky approached the Babarskys for some help. "I just wanted to come up with some kind of benefit, and there are so many bike runs around, and I thought it would be a good idea. I talked to Bob and he was very interested."

There was no monetary goal set for the fundraiser, said Piekarsky. "We're just trying to raise anything we can to help out," Piekarsky explained. "Once the transplant happens, she's be in six weeks of intense therapy afterward, and the family will have to stay in Philadelphia. The money raised with help with the financial burden.

The transplant will be performed at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.

"They (parents) have the pager and everyone is on standby," said Piekarsky. "They did two sets of lungs, but they were rejected by the hospital because they weren't strong enough."

Piekarsky thanked the Babarskys for their generous help in this instance

"Thunder Road burned down and the community came together to help him," said Piekarsky. "And when I did come to Bob, he was more than willing to help with something like this. I can't thank him enough."

The motorcycle run began at 1 p.m., with more than 30 motorcyles leaving Shenandoah along state Route 54 to go through Girardville and Ashland on the way to Lavelle, then to Pitman, Hegins and into Pine Grove, where there was a short break at Buddy's Log Cabin. The next stop was Sweet Arrow Lake Road, took the back roads into Cressona, and head back to Shenandoah. The riders returned to Shenandoah about 4 p.m.

Zelinsky, her parents and family were on hand to greet the returning riders, many who stayed for a fundraising party with live music by four bands -- Syre, Nemesis, The Beaten Path and Root 54.

Financial donations can be made directly to "New Lungs for Brittany" fund at M&T Bank, Ringtown.

source:http://findarticles.com/p/news-articles/standard-speaker-hazleton-pa/mi_8181/is_20100628/motorcycle-group-rides-ringtown-woman/ai_n54277812/