Cross-Canada cyclist turns tragedy into mission to help others
After becoming high school sweethearts, Adam felt he and Jackie would be together forever.
“We were just so connected,” Adam says. “We also had so much respect and appreciation for each other.”
Getting married to Jackie was inevitable. The pride Adam felt watching her become a mom to their two boys is still almost indescribable.
“She’s was amazing,” Adam starts crying. “She was amazing.”
He says “was” because of what happened that seemingly perfect summer day when they were playing softball together.
“I looked over to check and see that the rest of our outfield was ready,” Adam recalls. “And saw Jackie slumped in a pile.”
He ran over to try and revive her. While they waited for the ambulance, a teammate performed CPR.
“To no avail. We lost her,” Adam says. “Without warning.”
Jackie was just 31. And Adam was left a single dad to their one-year-old and three-year-old.
“More important than me falling into myself and wallowing, I had to raise two boys.”
There was no time to investigate the mystery of how his seemingly healthy young wife could suffer a sudden cardiac arrest.
Until 17 years later, when out of the blue, their oldest son Greg’s heart suddenly stopped beating, leaving him incapacitated.
“There’s probably not much that will be able to be done for him,” Adam says. “But my other boy is genetically at risk.”
Adam has since learned that Jackie and his boys have a genetic heart condition called Arrhythmogenic Right Ventricular Cardiomyopathy (ARVC).
Adam says ARVC is like a ticking time bomb that you often can’t hear until it’s too late, and it affects seemingly healthy young people.
“We don’t want other people to feel this,” Adam says. “We’re going to fix this.”
Adam’s striving to do that by cycling across Canada to raise awareness about ARVC and funds for research.
He completed his first leg from Newfoundland to Ontario. The final leg from B.C. back to Ontario is underway now.
“We can’t always control what life throws at us,” Adam says. “But we can choose how to respond to it.”
So instead of being consumed by grief, Adam is choosing to be motivated by the one thing Jackie wanted their boys to grow-up practicing: being kind to others.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
![](https://www.ctvnews.ca/polopoly_fs/1.6976926.1721883767!/httpImage/image.png_gen/derivatives/landscape_800/image.png)
AS IT HAPPENED Wildfire reaches Jasper Wednesday night, causes 'significant loss'
One of two wildfires threatening Jasper National Park reached the townsite Wednesday night and caused 'significant loss.'
Alberta calls in army to assist with wildfire situation
Alberta has called in the Canadian Armed Forces to help assist with the worsening wildfire situation in the province.
Biden explains why he ended re-election bid in Oval Office address
U.S. President Joe Biden on Wednesday delivered a solemn call to voters to defend the country's democracy as he laid out in an Oval Office address his decision to drop his bid for reelection and throw his support behind Vice President Kamala Harris.
Barrie-Innisfil MPP 'blacked-out' and crashed car into window of child care centre
Staff at a Barrie child care centre say they are frustrated by what they call a local MPP's inadequate response after a car crashed through a window in one of the toddler rooms.
Norad intercepts Russian and Chinese bombers operating together near Alaska in apparent first
The North American Aerospace Defence Command (Norad) intercepted two Russian and two Chinese bombers flying near Alaska Wednesday in what appears to be the first time the two countries have been intercepted while operating together.
2 Canadians being 'sent home immediately,' removed from Olympic team after drone incident
An analyst and an assistant coach with Canada Soccer are being removed from the Canadian Olympic Team and 'sent home immediately,' according to the Canadian Olympic Committee.
An unwelcome attendee has joined the Paris Olympic Games: COVID-19
After a handful of Australian water polo players tested positive for COVID-19 this week, questions have emerged around how the spread of the disease will be mitigated at the Summer Olympic Games in Paris.
Vacations, meals, booze: Contractor used $100K of charity's money for personal expenses, B.C. court finds
A B.C. man who was hired to help a non-profit build a food hub but instead spent the money on personal expenses – including travel, restaurants, booze and cannabis – has been ordered to pay more than $120,000 in damages.
Male, female killed, 2 others injured in 'gun battle' outside Toronto plaza: police
Two people are dead and two others suffered serious injuries following a shooting that police have described as a 'gun battle' outside a plaza in Scarborough, Ont. early Wednesday morning.