Riding High
Mar 04, 2010 | 666 views | 1 
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RENO — Carson Addison, 13, comes in to Renown Regional Medical Center frequently for treatment of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) and has to walk around hooked up to an IV. On Thursday, he happily and momentarily forgot about his cancer when some unexpected guests showed up for a visit.
Willy Browning, Nathan Skaggs and Lindsay Scheltema, riders in the 2010 AMA Arenacross Series, stopped by for a brief visit in the children’s hospital ahead of the Arenacross show taking place this weekend at the Reno Livestock and Events Center.
“I thought it was really cool,” Addison said. “They’re really nice. It’s cool that they come here. They don’t have to, but they do anyway.”
Browning and Skaggs excited Addison and other child patients with the offer of tickets to watch them in this weekend’s West Coast finale of the AMA Arenacross Series. This will be the 19th annual appearance of Arenacross, a motocross racing competition in arenas with close quarters on specially made dirt tracks, in the Biggest Little City.
When the riders are not making tracks with their bikes, they’re busy making impressions on young kids and their parents, especially those like Steve and Cheryl Geiselman of Fernley and their soon-to-be 4-year-old daughter, Emma, another ALL patient.
Emma had a chance to show off her speedster skills as the Arenacross members watched her ride down a hallway on a pink scooter. She was diagnosed on Dec. 17, 2009, and had just been given her very own four-wheeled bicycle, which she rides in the front yard at home, Cheryl said.
“It’s nice to have people … from Arenacross just come by and visit,” she said. “She gets to experience different people and it keeps her from becoming isolated.”
Emma said her 2-year-old brother bumps into her, to which Steve laughed and said, “If there’s no bumping, it ain’t racing.”
He added that he hopes she’ll get to do whatever she wants in life.
Addison, who has an interest in all things high-powered, said he’s never been able to attend an actual competition but hopes he’ll be able to use the free tickets to this weekend’s event that his three visitors gave him.
“I went with my friend once but it wasn’t like anything (the Arenacross riders) do,” he said. “It was an open patch of dirt and we just had this really old motorcycle, a Honda street model. That was really fun.”
His mother, Robin Addison, said it’s been difficult to watch Carson through his diagnosis and treatment. She, too, enjoyed the attention he received from his guests.
“It’s a long, hard haul,” she said. “When you’re 13 and you’re diagnosed with leukemia and you were the quarterback of the football team and you were snowboarding every weekend or skateboarding every day after school or were at school with friends and all that’s taken away, it’s harsh. It’s extremely harsh.”
A few rooms down, Scheltema, Browning and Skaggs visited with Spanish Springs residents Cooper Craft, 3, and his mother, Amber. Cooper also likes to ride his tricycle in the hallways and kept saying “wow” to Scheltema’s information about the riders.
“It’s so nice for them to take time outside their big race,” said Amber. “I appreciate their doing this.”
Scheltema, who is Miss Arenacross for the organization, said it offers children a change of pace to talk with Arenacross members.
“It’s really fun to come and interact with them and have that special guest come in and change things up a little bit from their usual routine,” she said. “I really enjoy it.”
Saturday’s show is at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday’s show is at 10 a.m. Admission is $20 for adults, $10 for kids and day-of tickets cost $2 more. Discounts are available for kids age 2 to 12. Doors open one hour before the event starts.
Monster Energy also will hold a track party from 5 to 6 p.m. Admission is free with a ticket and an empty Monster Energy can.
For more information, visit www.arenacross.com.
Willy Browning, Nathan Skaggs and Lindsay Scheltema, riders in the 2010 AMA Arenacross Series, stopped by for a brief visit in the children’s hospital ahead of the Arenacross show taking place this weekend at the Reno Livestock and Events Center.
“I thought it was really cool,” Addison said. “They’re really nice. It’s cool that they come here. They don’t have to, but they do anyway.”
Browning and Skaggs excited Addison and other child patients with the offer of tickets to watch them in this weekend’s West Coast finale of the AMA Arenacross Series. This will be the 19th annual appearance of Arenacross, a motocross racing competition in arenas with close quarters on specially made dirt tracks, in the Biggest Little City.
When the riders are not making tracks with their bikes, they’re busy making impressions on young kids and their parents, especially those like Steve and Cheryl Geiselman of Fernley and their soon-to-be 4-year-old daughter, Emma, another ALL patient.
Emma had a chance to show off her speedster skills as the Arenacross members watched her ride down a hallway on a pink scooter. She was diagnosed on Dec. 17, 2009, and had just been given her very own four-wheeled bicycle, which she rides in the front yard at home, Cheryl said.
“It’s nice to have people … from Arenacross just come by and visit,” she said. “She gets to experience different people and it keeps her from becoming isolated.”
Emma said her 2-year-old brother bumps into her, to which Steve laughed and said, “If there’s no bumping, it ain’t racing.”
He added that he hopes she’ll get to do whatever she wants in life.
Addison, who has an interest in all things high-powered, said he’s never been able to attend an actual competition but hopes he’ll be able to use the free tickets to this weekend’s event that his three visitors gave him.
“I went with my friend once but it wasn’t like anything (the Arenacross riders) do,” he said. “It was an open patch of dirt and we just had this really old motorcycle, a Honda street model. That was really fun.”
His mother, Robin Addison, said it’s been difficult to watch Carson through his diagnosis and treatment. She, too, enjoyed the attention he received from his guests.
“It’s a long, hard haul,” she said. “When you’re 13 and you’re diagnosed with leukemia and you were the quarterback of the football team and you were snowboarding every weekend or skateboarding every day after school or were at school with friends and all that’s taken away, it’s harsh. It’s extremely harsh.”
A few rooms down, Scheltema, Browning and Skaggs visited with Spanish Springs residents Cooper Craft, 3, and his mother, Amber. Cooper also likes to ride his tricycle in the hallways and kept saying “wow” to Scheltema’s information about the riders.
“It’s so nice for them to take time outside their big race,” said Amber. “I appreciate their doing this.”
Scheltema, who is Miss Arenacross for the organization, said it offers children a change of pace to talk with Arenacross members.
“It’s really fun to come and interact with them and have that special guest come in and change things up a little bit from their usual routine,” she said. “I really enjoy it.”
Saturday’s show is at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday’s show is at 10 a.m. Admission is $20 for adults, $10 for kids and day-of tickets cost $2 more. Discounts are available for kids age 2 to 12. Doors open one hour before the event starts.
Monster Energy also will hold a track party from 5 to 6 p.m. Admission is free with a ticket and an empty Monster Energy can.
For more information, visit www.arenacross.com.
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comments (1)
« NevadaMatters wrote on Sunday, Mar 07 at 09:25 AM »
This is the kind of news we need more of. These people truly matter to me, just like NEVADA MATTERS to us all.
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