7-Time Ironman to Ride 900 Miles to Raise Funds for Injured Toddler

A 7-time Ironman from New York hopes to raise funds for a Winder toddler who was seriously injured when a tree branch fell and struck him in October of last year.

Dave Nazaroff of Nyack, N.Y. hopes to complete the 900-mile journey in five to six days. Nazaroff has already raised more than $21,000 and hopes to raise more.

According to a post on Barrow Patch by Nazaroff's wife:

Two weeks ago a friend forwarded me the link to a blog kept by the mother of a boy in Atlanta named Tripp Halstead. Tripp was critically injured October 29 while playing outside at his Winder daycare. His skull was shattered by a large heavy falling tree branch and he sustained traumatic brain injury. Over the past 4.5 months he has been in and out of surgery (11 times), battled bacteria, flu, and meningitis. But even though he is still in the hospital, he is a fighter. He keeps battling back. And his parents Stacy and Bill are amazing.

I was so moved by Stacy's blog. It was done as Facebook postings nearly every night and every day. She spoke so openly about Tripp's condition, her emotions, and her need for prayers and well wishes...nothing more. There was humor, memories of Tripp before, and hope for what's to come. Her blog now has over 300,000 followers getting daily updates on his condition. Tripp is their only child.

When I looked at Tripp's picture I could not believe his resemblance to our 2 year old son George. Same age...blond hair, blue eyes, joyful grin. I couldn't shake the thought, "What if this was George? What if this happened to us?"

Visit Barrow Patch for additional details and to learn how you can contribute to the fundraising effort.