A ride with pride & purpose

By DAN POMPILI

TheNewsOutlet.org

PITTSBURGH

At an event attended

by former Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Ridge and three former Pittsburgh Steelers, the focus was not on politics or football.

These celebrities arrived to honor 17 wounded Iraq and Afghanistan veterans from various branches of the U.S. armed forces, including Boardman native Marc Esposito.

The recent reception at the Lexus Club at PNC Park in Pittsburgh recognized the achievements and struggles of all the riders on the World Team Sports and State Farm Insurance Sea To Shining Sea Bike Ride.

Esposito, 26, who lives in North Carolina, was in a wheelchair and wearing a back brace at this time last year. Now he is not only walking but, as of Wednesday, had ridden roughly 3,000 miles on a bicycle from San Francisco to Pittsburgh.

The riders arrived at a welcome reception on Pittsburgh’s North Shore, between PNC Park and Heinz Field, at 3 p.m Wednesday after their 45-mile ride from Weirton, W.Va.

There, Esposito and the other riders met friends and family who would accompany them to the dinner. Esposito had already spent time with his sister, Candice Osborne of Centerville, Ohio, who had ridden with him on the 80-mile stretch from Dayton to Columbus. Osborne was unable to make the dinner event.

However, Esposito’s mother and father, Bonnie and Marc Sr., his aunt, Jody Esposito, and his maternal grandparents, Dave and June Wilson — all from the Youngstown area — attended.

“It’s hard to put into words,” said Esposito Sr. “He’s always been strong willed, but to see him come this far this soon, … yes, I’m very proud.”

“I’ve never gone to so many [Catholic] M asses,” said grandfather Dave Wilson. “I believe small miracles do happen.”

Esposito, who had both of his legs shattered below the knee in an improvised- explosive-device attack in Afghanistan, would not take all of the credit for himself, however.

“Yeah, I continue to prove medical expectations wrong,” he said. “But everybody on the ride is exceeding standards. You attack the enemy with a team, never by yourself.”

For Esposito and the other riders, the enemy is physical limitation. Esposito said that the goal and the message of the S2SS Bike Ride is to spread their motivation to soldiers and civilians who are still lying in hospital beds “thinking their lives are pretty much over.”

“We want [to inspire] guys to get back to living the lives they love.” This was also Esposito’s message as he spoke in front of the congregation at the Lexus Club.

“I arrived from Afghanistan in May of 2009 broken and disabled,” he told them, “but I can honestly say that no one on this ride today is broken.”

In his brief speech, Esposito lauded the other riders for their teamwork, his mother for the pasta salad, and quoted Winston Churchill, who said that sometimes the standards are not good enough and one must do “what is required.”

Dr. Allen Russell of the McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine at the University of Pittsburgh also spoke. He offered a presentation on improving the healing techniques for wounded soldiers, including the extra-cellular matrix.

ECM is a substance present in the human body that can be manipulated to re-grow human tissue just as a salamander regrows a lost limb. Early experiments with the procedure have been highly successful, including replacement of a human hand.

Edmund Nelson, former Steelers defensive end and veteran State Farm agent, emceed the event, telling football stories during dinner.

Ridge, who also served as former U.S. Homeland Security director, also had a simple message for the audience: “Bet on a vet. It’s the ability that counts,” he said.

After the reception, Esposito’s family shared their views of the S2SS event and their beloved participant.

“With all the attention given to LeBron James, this is what people should be seeing,” said Esposito’s grandmother June Wilson.

“I’m very proud of him,” said his aunt Jody. “I forgive him for putting all the dart holes in my wall when he was 5.”

“He found his niche,” said his mother, Bonnie. “He became his own man.”

The NewsOutlet is a joint media venture by student and professional journalists and is a collaboration of Youngstown State University, WYSU radio and The Vindicator.