From left, Lyla, Hannah and Riley decorated their bikes when they rode in last year’s Trike & Bike.
When Riley, Lyla and Hannah were told that this year’s VeloSano Trike & Bike event would be at the Cleveland Zoo, all three young girls were excited. Yet each of these children have tamed a beast more fearsome than any lion or tiger.
By the age of 13 months, all three girls had been diagnosed with retinoblastoma, a rare eye cancer that left each of them with sight in only one eye. Indeed, these youngsters have developed a level of resiliency many adults still strive to achieve.
The girls and their families met last year through social media, bonding over their similar cancer journeys. In fact, all the girls were treated and are followed at Cleveland Clinic by Dr. Arun Singh. When Lyla’s mom, Jenna, learned about Trike & Bike, she raised the idea of forming an Eye Fight to Win Trike & Bike team, named after a rallying cry commonly associated with retinoblastoma.
“Lyla, who is six now, was diagnosed at just 10 weeks old,” Jenna says. “She is so used to it; it is all she has ever known. You know, kids live in the moment – she doesn’t let it hinder her in any way. Lyla knows that she has beat cancer, and her dad and I try to celebrate that as much as we can. After last year’s Trike & Bike, she knew that by riding she was somehow helping kids with cancer, but it was tough trying to explain to a 5-year-old how donations work. We just told her, ‘Our team is winning!’ She liked that.”
Hannah’s mom Meggen says that her daughter’s monocular vision has never stopped her from doing anything. She’s a gymnast, plays basketball and rides roller coasters. “Hannah is going on six years old, and she has never complained about her sight, never quit anything that she’s tried,” she says. “Last year she was too young to grasp the impact she was making, but she did absolutely know that she was helping kids with cancer – and this year she’ll certainly have a better understanding of how it all works.”
As the oldest member of the Eye Fight to Win team, eight-year-old Riley was designated as the team’s captain. Diagnosed just before her first birthday, Riley takes karate, loves ballet and drawing and wants to be an artist when she grows up. “Like the other two girls, Riley knows she beat cancer, and she takes pride knowing that by participating in Trike & Bike she’s helping little kids,” her mom Jessica says.
“If you think about it, there aren’t that many ways for kids to help support important causes,” says Kate Eshleman, PsyD, a pediatric psychologist at Cleveland Clinic Children’s. “Participating in Trike & Bike is a great opportunity for kids to appreciate that sometimes people need help, and that they can be that help.”
Dr. Eshleman is captain of the Cleveland Clinic Children’s Bike to Cure team, VeloSano’s flagship event, where—like Trike & Bike—100% of participant-raised dollars directly support cancer research at Cleveland Clinic. “Trike & Bike is also a learning experience, because young riders may, for the first time, see someone who has lost their hair or lost a leg,” adds Dr. Eshleman. “Hopefully they will approach the experience with curiosity and participate in important conversations. For many kids – especially the younger ones – it’s one of their first chances to help people beyond family members and friends.”
Trike & Bike provides a unique opportunity for children ages 3-10 across Northeast Ohio to come together for a fun and rewarding event, while also making a difference in fundraising for pediatric cancer research at Cleveland Clinic Children’s.
Each young Trike & Bike rider receives a personal fundraising page upon registration, empowering them to raise funds for pediatric cancer research at Cleveland Clinic Children’s. This tool can be educational and motivating for children, as it is a visual way to measure their progress and success. Importantly, 100% of the proceeds from these events directly support this research, thanks to the backing of corporate partners.
“Fortunately, pediatric cancer is rare, with about 16,000 diagnoses each year in the U.S.—a stark contrast to breast, colon and lung cancers, each with around 200,000 annual cases,” says Matteo Trucco, MD, of Cleveland Clinic’s Pediatric Hematology Oncology and Blood and Marrow Transplantation department. “Because of this smaller population, conducting large-scale studies in children is more challenging, as pediatric cancer receives only 4% of federal cancer research funding, making philanthropic support critical.”
This year’s Trike & Bike will take place on Saturday, July 26, at the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo. Children will ride on one of three age-specific loops throughout the zoo, then are welcome to enjoy the day at the zoo with their families. Having a central location is new for Trike & Bike, but communities can still host their own Trike & Bike event.
Learn more and register for Trike & Bike here.
100% For The Cure
