(By Gabriel Ramonet) The cyclist from San Juan who suffers from Parkinson’s disease and made a journey of 4,350 kilometers between the cities of La Quiaca (in Jujuy) and Ushuaia (in Tierra del Fuego) assured that his motto is “insist and resist” and that the bicycle is his “medicine”, while he called on those who suffer from this disease to “not give up” and “continue fighting for a better quality of life”.
Omar Rojas, 57, left Jujuy on September 20 and arrived in Ushuaia on Monday, November 21, following touring the entire country from north to south, bringing a message of awareness regarding the evil he suffers but also of optimism.
“I was diagnosed 15 years ago but I have been treated for 5. Before I dedicated myself to caring for my wife, who had diabetes and other illnesses and passed away. I have five children and many friends who supported me on this journey,” Rojas said in dialogue with telam.
The man explained that a few years ago he was admitted to the hospital where he was treated in a walker, unable to walk and almost unable to eat on his own.
“They asked me to have surgery and I said no, that I was going to do some physical activity to improve. That’s how riding a bike came up and that’s how I got ahead. I feel that God gave me this opportunity and now he asks me to encourage others who are in my same condition,” said the man.
Rojas realized that he might face long journeys and made a first trip between San Juan and Neuquén, regarding 1,250 kilometers, and from there the idea of uniting the entire country by pedaling was born.
“They told me I was crazy, that in Patagonia there is a lot of wind, but I tried the same. I realized that where others suffer I feel good. I enjoy, I scream, I enjoy the route. The more kilometers I travel, the better I feel “, emphasized the sanjuanino.
“The bicycle is my medicine”, assured the man and remarked that his motto is “insist and resist” and that he wants to transmit to other people with Parkinson’s disease that they continue “fighting for a better quality of life”.
For his journey, Rojas received help from the Red Argentina de Parkinson, an entity that brings together groups of patients and families from all over Argentina.
“Every time Omar went to a town, we looked for contacts with authorities, journalists or security forces. Many members of the network provided him with accommodation and some donated money. They all worked so that he did not lack anything,” Andrea Cuellar told Télam. , a member of the Parkinson’s Network.
The woman, who was diagnosed with the disease 8 years ago, said that meeting Omar and helping him allowed her to adopt him as “an example for all of us.”
“Sometimes you get up without strength, without desire. Omar’s message is to never give up, do what you can depending on the stage of the disease. It is also important to talk, raise your anxieties, and learn regarding neurorehabilitation therapies and the proper ways to treat it,” revealed Cuellar.
On his trip around the country, Omar Rojas made stretches of between 150 and 180 kilometers a day, although he also did 230 and 240.
“I don’t know where my strength comes from. I didn’t get cramps or anything. I went from town to town, talking to the sick and taking my message especially to those who isolate themselves, abandon themselves or don’t know what to do,” the man continued. men.
According to Rojas, among the main experiences he gathered during his journey is that of becoming aware of the lack of specialists in the disease that exists in most of the national territory.
“Few provinces have specialized neurologists. Patients, then, have to move from one place to another, and many are unable to do so due to the limitations imposed by the disease,” he warned.
For Cuellar, another of the central difficulties is “the lack of official statistics. We asked that a specific question be included in the last census and we did not get it. Currently there are three bills under analysis by Congress, one on chronic neurological diseases and the others regarding Parkinson’s. We ask for training, greater attention and even research,” stressed the member of the network.
He also explained that late diagnosis is another problem: “It is a disease that is difficult to detect without specialists. It is not diagnosed by conventional analysis. And that causes the disease to progress. Medication covers the symptoms but does not cure it, which is why we ask that it be investigate,” he said.
Rojas acknowledged that he “was not a cyclist before Parkinson’s” and that despite the fact that San Juan is the cradle of this sport, it grew as he began to travel.
“An elite athlete accompanied me in the first section to La Rioja, and he taught me how to make changes, when to loosen my legs. And the truth is that it worked. It’s nice to learn,” he said.
The man from San Juan arrived in Ushuaia accompanied by the businessman from the municipality of Tolhuin Emilio Sáez, owner of the La Unión bakery, who offered to share the last leg of the trip.
“I finished a chapter but now it’s time to work. We are going to go to each province, starting with Jujuy, spreading the same message. I am confident that the other doors will open on their own. And next year I will return to the routes to travel Buenos Aires, La Pampa, Santa Fe, Mesopotamia and the north that I missed,” Rojas said.
Cuellar said that following his return from Ushuaia, Omar arrived in Buenos Aires by plane, and that following a few hours he assembled his bicycle and began to say that he was going back to San Juan pedaling.
“It seems incredible but we had to convince him. We ask him to rest, he still has a lot to do,” confessed the cyclist’s collaborator. (Telam)