PHOTO BY BOB ROCHE
Patrick Cogan will organize a family walk, run and roll road race April 10 to raise money to battle Friedreich’s Ataxia.
By THOR JOURGENSEN
LYNN — Undaunted by the wheelchair crash that sent him to Union Hospital during last year’s Project Wheels family walk, run and roll, Patrick Cogan hopes to attract 150 participants to this year’s five-kilometer event, scheduled for April 10.
The Lynn native, and aide to Mayor Judith Flanagan Kennedy, founded Project Wheels in 2012 as a local initiative aimed at fighting Friedreich’s Ataxia, a neuromuscular disorder that restricts Cogan’s mobility to a wheelchair and customized vehicle.
“My muscles don’t respond to my brain well and it affects speaking and swallowing,” he said.
Working with his brother, Matthew Cogan, race co-director, Melissa Whiten and other Project Wheels supporters, including Christopher Pace and Joel Solimine, Cogan’s goal is to raise money to buy home wheelchair ramps, wheelchair-retrofitted vehicles and other equipment for people diagnosed with Friedreich’s Ataxia.
Cogan said the disease receives little public attention and needs much more research and treatment funding. Working with his team, he organized the 2015 Family Walk, Run and Roll and drew 128 runners to the event.
“With no money, no one’s going to fight a disease that strikes one in 50,000 people,” he said.
During the race Cogan toppled his new racing wheelchair, breaking the orbital bone beneath his right eye and sustaining “a lot of good road rash.”
“Everyone was coming back for pancakes and I was laid up at Union Hospital,” he said.
Last year’s race raised $3,500, and that money, combined with other fundraising efforts, helped meet Cogan’s assistance goals.
This year’s walk, run and roll is scheduled to begin on April 10 at 8:30 a.m. at Rolly’s Tavern, followed by a pancake breakfast. For registration and fundraising information, visit projectwheels.org
“It is our hope to raise funds for Friedreich’s Ataxia patients and their families, as well as bring together the local community for the common goal of independence,” Cogan said.
Thor Jourgensen can be reached at [email protected].