Riding high in the saddle for Shannon

Brad Adams has a pretty good view from the saddle of his horse, Sandor.

And what he sees is an outpouring of love and support for his wife, Shannon, as he makes his way from town to town across Haldimand-Norfolk.

Brad, a sergeant with Hamilton Police Service, has undertaken a 10-day Ride for the Registry, to raise awareness of the need for people to register themselves on the Canadian Blood Services Stem Cell Registry. The roughly 233-kilometre ride began May 5 and will see Brad crossing the countryside, from Dunnville to Tillsonburg, to Port Dover and back to Caledonia.

The need for stem cell matches became very real for Brad and Shannon after she was diagnosed with plasma cell leukemia multiple myeloma. They began a campaign, Match4Shannon, which added 1,000 new people to the registry. The goal was to find a stem cell match for Shannon. Unfortunately, her aggressive cancer has left her unable to partake in stem cell therapy. But the pair hope that Brad's ride will continue to entice people to join the registry so that others in need may find a match.

On Saturday, Brad and friends Brad Heffernan and Scott Zehr rode into Simcoe and past Norfolk General Hospital, where Shannon works. A piper serenaded the trio past the facility as Shannon's co-workers held signs of support out front, or waved from windows.

Barry Gray is a Hamilton-based photojournalist at The Spectator. Reach him via email: bgray@thespec.com