SEATTLE — "Grumpy" may not sound like an endearing word to describe someone, but when Wenmei Hill talks about her dad, she means it with nothing but love.
"He's a grumpy old guy, but proud of it. He's military, Air Force. And then after the Air Force, he was a lawyer where he worked pro bono for the nurses’ union here in Seattle," Hill said.
But in 2007 her family received devastating news when her father was diagnosed with Multiple Myeloma.
"It's kind of an invasive, all-body cancer. There's no cure for it. At the time, he was told he had about I think they said nine months," said Hill. "He did a ton of different treatment options, but like I said earlier, he was a stubborn man and he lived for eight years."
To help others dealing with cancer and pay homage to her dad, she signed up for Fred Hutch Cancer Center's annual fundraiser, Obliteride.
"After my father passed away, I saw the signs for it, and a good friend of mine, Mary suggested, 'Why don't we ride it.' She'd lost her mother also to cancer and she said, 'Why don't we ride it together?' And, you know, like 25 miles, that seems crazy, but OK," Hill recalls.
"My first Obliterate was in 2016. That was the year after my father passed away. And so I rode it in his honor," said Hill. "It was amazing to do it with the group of people that were there. The other riders are so supportive. And then we had the cheer crews, and the little orange Obliteride bells and the pompoms. Everything was so supportive and it felt easy and fun."
And 100% of the money each participant raises goes towards life-saving research.
"Fundraising for Fred Hutch is important to me because raising money for the research helped my dad because there were new things that happened in those eight years - like when he went from nine months to eight years. It was because of research they kept having new therapies for him to try," said Hill. "There's just so many parts of cancer, it just takes over people's lives. And so raising funds for all those pieces is so critical."
This year will be Hill’s 9th Obliteride. So, what would her "grumpy" dad think of her commitment to help cure cancer?
"He would say I'm crazy, and yes, he would be absolutely proud of me," she said. "He's the reason that I would look at something like I've never ridden before and say sure, I can do 25 miles, let's go for it!"
Fred Hutch's Obliteride is Saturday, August 10th. Besides biking, there is also a 5k option if you'd like to run or walk. Registration for that ends Thursday, July 25. You can find out more information on how you can participate at www.Obliteride.org.
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