In 1993 at the young age of 22, I started experiencing flashes of light stemming from the corners of my eyes, similar to that of light bulbs flickering on and off. When I turned to look, nothing was there.

I did not know it at the time, but that was the first sign I was going BLIND.

Along with losing the vast majority of my sight, I also lost my license, my independence, my career as a firefighter, and my aspiration to play professional football in Canada was gone. As a result of the mounting losses I was suffering, accompanied with the unbearable grief and uncertainty as to what my now bleak future holds, I carried out an attempt to end my life. If it weren’t for two friends who unexpectedly dropped by my house and rushed me to the hospital, I wouldn’t be here today.

SURVIVING that ordeal made me see things very differently. I reemerged STRONGER THAN EVER and vowed to never let my disability beat me, or stop me from accomplishing great things.

In an effort to inspire others and raise money and awareness for my cause, without any cycling experience, I set out to be the first blind Canadian to cycle for a continuous three months for an average of 100 miles a day across Canada – the largest country in the world next to Russia!

Due to my lack of vision, I needed a tandem bike so someone could be my “eyes on the road” throughout the journey. Unfortunately, the bike, along with equipment and spare parts, would cost me roughly $10,000.

With the help of adaptive devices that allowed me to read and write, I began the daunting task of hand writing letters to different companies in search of support. Besides my family and a few friends, NOBODY BELIEVED IN ME.