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Rider Story: Dan Young

Published Date:   April 08, 2009

Topic:   PMC News

As we gear up for the 30th annual Pan-Massachusetts Challenge, the PMC blog will share the inspirational stories of some of our wonderful riders. Meet Dan Young, a first time PMCer: In September 2007, Young, a healthy 38-year-old father of two young girls, woke up with a heavy feeling in his chest and a weird sensation in his right arm. The avid bike rider and hockey player couldn't be having a heart attack. Could he? Young brushed it off, thinking he would feel pain in the left arm if he was having a heart attack. Later that day, the symptoms returned. He left work early. While driving home, Young felt so badly, he changed course to drive straight to the hospital. He didn't even make it that far and stopped at a firehouse along the way. He was in excruciating pain. The EMTs immediately determined he was having a heart attack. They stabilized him and called an ambulance to take him to the hospital where they performed emergency surgery. Young was completely shocked that he had attack. He is an athlete and spends his free time running after his daughters, Sierra, 2, and Tatum, 1. "After that happened, I realized you don't know how much time you have left on the planet and I wanted to do something to give back," says Young. He credits the EMTs for saving his life. Now Young is back on his bike and will pedal 190-miles on Aug. 1 and 2 to help others in the 30th annual Pan-Massachusetts Challenge. The Pan-Massachusetts Challenge raises money for cancer care and research at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute where his sister, Janine, was treated for leukemia. Janine battled cancer for three years before passing away at age six. Read more about Young in the Rocky Hill Post of Connecticut.

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