KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Ten years ago, Jeff Bekos and his family left the Philadelphia Ronald McDonald House after 254 nights; his daughter, Hailey, was fighting for her life after receiving a rare auto-immune disease diagnosis.
To mark the 10 years and celebrate 50 years of Ronald McDonald House Charities, Bekos is riding his bike 4,600 miles from Irvine, California, to Philadelphia and stopping at 26 Ronald McDonald Houses along the way. He began pedaling on July 29 and is set to complete the trip on Oct. 14.
Approximately 1,700 miles into his trip, he made it to Kansas City for Red Wednesday, which makes him geographically halfway through his trek.
“I had this crazy idea about a year and a half ago that I shared with my wife and kids," Bekos said. "I said, ‘Well, why don’t I do a bike ride across the country, stopping at 26 Ronald McDonald Houses?’”
Bekos says he's met so many Ronald McDonald House families, staff and volunteers along his journey. But when he's not touring the 26 houses, he's out raising money and spreading awareness about what the charity meant to him and his family.
"Ronald McDonald House Charities takes away all of that burden of trying to figure out where to live, what to eat," he said.
Hailey first showed symptoms on the morning of July 5, 2013.
“She came downstairs and said, ‘Dad, can you make me breakfast?’ And within about 15 seconds she stopped talking," Bekos said.
Bekos and his wife, Liz, rushed Hailey to the hospital where she had a seizure. She was transferred to Children's Hospital in Philadelphia and had two grand mal seizures. Over the course of a couple of days, she stopped breathing, received an emergency tracheotomy, and a week later fell into a coma for four months. Hailey was eventually diagnosed with anti-NDMA receptor encephalitis and began recovery.
The Philadelphia Ronald McDonald House allowed the Bekos to stay close to Hailey for those 254 days.
“Being really close to the hospital is really important because you don’t want to leave your child when they’re fighting for their life," Bekos said. "You need to be right there.”
Today, Hailey is working for a digital marketing company for nonprofits.
"Hailey is our miracle, she is a thriving 24-year-old. There’s no remnants of the disease," Bekos said.
Bekos made the trip to Kansas City just in time for Red Wednesday, a longstanding tradition where Kansas Citians purchase team flags and the proceeds go to Kansas City's Ronald McDonald Charities.
He was up at 5 a.m. alongside Red Kingdom to witness the wave of fans file through lines of cars to purchase the gear.
“I mean, it was crazy," Bekos said of Red Wednesday. "I never expected in a million years how nutty it would be, I mean it was awesome.”
As Bekos takes off from Kansas City to continue his journey, he'll find himself with a Red Wednesday flag in hand, even as a Green Bay Packers fan.
For those interested, you can read more about Hailey's story on Bekos' One Dad's Mission website, where you can also follow his journey.
“I still have a long way to go," he said.
KSHB 41 reporter Lily O’Shea Becker covers Franklin and Douglas counties in Kansas. Share your story idea with Lily.
—
