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www.insideHALTON.com | OAKVILLE BEAVER | Thursday, June 9, 2016 | 14 Regan rides to give others a second chance at life by Nathan Howes Special to the Beaver In March 2014, Oakville's Regan Clark had a bone-marrow transplant that saved her life. Now the 52-year-old wants to return the favour and help others beat cancer by taking part in Canada's largest cycling fundraiser next weekend for the first time. The Enbridge Ride to Conquer Cancer takes place June 11-12. The two-day, 200-kilometre cycling event runs from Toronto to Niagara Falls to support Princess Margaret, one of the top worldclass cancer centres. "I was inspired by reading all the stories about the ride. It was one of the events I vowed to do in recovery," said Clark. "I do a lot of fundraising now and I had done some before, but to me, this particular event is important because these are the people who donate to the research and that's what saved my life." Clark was diagnosed with aplastic anemia, a rare bone marrow disorder, in July 2013 on her 50th birthday. She thought she had leukemia at first, but after blood testing revealed the true diagnosis, Clark was "pretty shocked" at the results, she said. "You get used to a new normal. I'm pretty athletic, so I was continuing to do all of my stuff, but I was super tired. Other than that, I was kind of blown away," said Clark. "It kind of puts you into a panic state internally, but you know you have to suck it up and get going because it's not something you can just push aside." Prior to medical examination, Clark noticed she had abnormallooking bruises on her feet and was fatigued often, but she wasn't experiencing any pain. She noted she would take two-hour naps at home after a four- Oakville's Regan Clark and Bob Rumble. Clark will be cycling in the Enbridge Ride to Conquer Cancer June 11-12. | submitted photo hour shift at work. "My hemoglobin was low and you could have just touched me with a finger and I would have bruised. It was a bone marrow failure. That was the beginning of the journey," said Clark, a pilates and fitness trainer. Later that year, the Oakville woman underwent chemotherapy and 25 blood transfusions before it was decided she needed a bone-marrow transplant. Clark's brother, Bill, who is eight years older, was a perfect match and volunteered to undergo the operation in March 2014. She said he was thrilled to have the transplant with her, as it was important to him to give back. "It was scary for me, but a week prior, he called me. Even through the transplant, which was a five-hour process, he kept phoning me. He was so worried that it might not work and that he would be responsible for me not doing well," said Clark. "I always tell people it was an awesome journey back to health because I have awesome friends and family who really stood by me." While Clark couldn't do anything overly physical while recovering from her procedure, today her health is good and she's back working with her clients. She said her job now is to inspire others and share her story as a way to "offer some hope to those going through this," which is why she's participating in the Ride to Conquer Cancer. "I decided to do this (event) and a few others. I like the fact that it's probably one of the largest events in Canada. It is saving lives in my mind," said Clark. Since 2008, the Ontario Ride has raised more than $138 million for Princess Margaret, while nationally, the event has raised more than $304 million for cancer research, education, treatment and care across Canada. "If I could do a week of chemotherapy, I can do a long bike ride no see Helping on p.22 O Thursdays 1:00 ­ 6:30 pm P E Saturdays 10:30 am ­ 1:30 pm N Sundays 10:00 am ­ 12:00 pm Skyway Jewellers FRee LeATHeR BRACeLeT WITH YOuR $125 PAnDORA PuRCHASe Homemade Ukrainian Food terrace take-away all prepared and easy to warm up June 2-19 905.337.1400 ext. 116 orders@terracetakeaway.ca cafe@sjucc.ca www.terracetakeaway.ca St. Joseph's Ukrainian Catholic Church 300 River Oaks Blvd. East (at Trafalgar) Oakville ON 2501 Third Line, Oakville (Third Line and Dundas) 905-827-0700 www.skywayjewellers.com