Cancer patient and dad raising money & awareness

This summer we introduced readers to an inspirational 9-year-old Loyal Heights Elementary student who is fighting cancer.

Owain Weinert rides in the Seattle Livestrong Challenge.

Owain Weinert was diagnosed with Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia (ALL) earlier this year, but the disease didn’t stop him from riding in Seattle’s Livestrong Challenge. He had originally signed up to do the entire ride, but had to cut it short after his diagnosis.

Owain’s dad, Alex, emails us that his son raised nearly $4,000, riding 14 miles just two days after a chemo treatment. The Livestrong folks interviewed Owain, bringing his story to the attention of Lance Armstrong, who tweeted it to his 2-million plus followers. (See third tweet down.)

Owain is now in what’s called “long-term maintenance,” a lower intensity chemo treatment that consists of one chemo pill each day with a chemo injection once a month, his dad tells us. His hair started growing back less than two weeks ago, a huge milestone. “Along with this, he’s regaining some of his physical strength,” Alex tells us, “It will be a long road, but he’s definitely getting stronger every day.”

With his son in recovery, Alex Weinert is now on a campaign of his own to raise awareness for pediatric cancer. This weekend he’ll ride 200 miles from Seattle to Portland, to raise money for Pablove Across America. Alex has reached his financial goal of $2,500, but for him it’s not about the money. “My goal is to get as many DIFFERENT donors as possible to build up awareness,” Alex writes, “I am asking for ‘buy me a latte’ type donations for the ride, but hope to reach as many people as possible.” If you’d like, you can donate here.