For one former collegiate rower, raising awareness about cancer meant taking his talents to the ocean - all 2,950 miles of it.
Paul Ridley, a 25-year-old who lost his mother to cancer, set out to row across the Atlantic Ocean in hopes of collecting $500,000 in donations for research at the Yale Cancer Center.
His journey proved to be anything but easy - as Ridley only had a pair of oars to navigate the waters and did not enjoy the luxury of a support boat following him along the way. Even though the trek across the ocean left him riddled with salt sores, exhaustion and blisters, Ridley became the youngest American and just third overall to successfully complete the trip. Relying on freeze-dried food and a satellite phone to post blog updates about his adventure, Ridley rowed up to 12 hours per day in his customized boat to accomplish his goal in 88 days.
Ridley and his sister created the organization "Row for Hope" in memory of their mother, having raised $100,000 thanks to his daring journey across the Atlantic Ocean.
The Editorial Board applauds Paul Ridley for his efforts to attract attention to cancer research and raise money for such a worthy cause. Ridley's accomplishments work to dispel the notion that one single person cannot make a major difference to combat cancer. While he may have fallen short of his original goal of $500,000, we hope Ridley's story will encourage others to push their own perceived limits and do something courageous to help others.
