The bitter cold may be forcing plenty of us to retreat indoors, but one man has strapped on his skates for a very long skate at an outdoor rink in Calgary.
Steven McNeil is out at Thomson Family Park and has been skating ever since 12:01 a.m. He plans to stay out until 7:30 p.m. on Saturday for a total of 19 hours.
This is the latest marathon in McNeil’s plan to raise money for research into Alzheimer’s disease, the illness that claimed both his mother and mother-in-law.
“My mother battled Alzheimer’s for the better part of 20 years; 11 years in a nursing home. At the same time, my mother-in-law lived with me for five years with dementia. My wife gave up her career to stay home and take care of her.”
McNeil has been doing this for the past seven years, first starting at the rink in front of Toronto City Hall.
The amount of time he skates on the rink is significant too. 19 hours and 26 minutes is often how much time a family member spends each day to take care of a loved one with the disease, McNeil says.
“I learned from experience that they can go for a stretch of a few days without sleep. They go through phases where they are up and down and moving around, going outdoors and through communities and stuff and that’s the frightening part about it.”
He says skating out in the sub-zero temperatures is a difficult task, but it’s really a drop in the bucket in comparison to taking care of a loved one who has Alzheimer’s.
“It makes it easier. I think of my mom if I get cold and I’m good.”
To help out, McNeil is asking for donations of $19.26 on his website or directly to the Alzheimer Society of Calgary.
“Everybody seems to like what I’m doing, so if I raise the awareness level, that’s a positive sign for everybody.”
With enough funding, McNeil hopes to make a stop in all 31 NHL cities next year.
(With files from Chris Epp)
