We Did It!

As Katherine rolled into St. Augustine, Florida and completed her cross-country cycling tour, the WOCN Society counted the donations for a final time. We exceeded our fundraising goal of $200,000 with a grand total of $214,252!

Cycling for Scholarships has undoubtedly been the Society's most comprehensive fundraising effort to date and we owe our success to our member supporters. By meeting our goal, the WOCN Foundation can fund educational scholarships for another five years and award an additional 100 scholarships. What an amazing accomplishment thanks to YOU!

Through it all, Katherine has endured the hot deserts of Arizona, the dusty hills of Texas, and the thick Florida humidity. She truly had an amazing journey. The WOCN Society applauds Katherine for her tremendous sacrifice and determination to raise awareness of WOC nursing. We are forever grateful to her generosity and example.



The bike pedals may stop, but the needs don't stop. If you'd like to continuing donating to the WOCN's Cycling for Scholarships campaign, please visit http://www.wocnfoundation.org/.

**Amount updated 5/23

According to Katherine: Day 42 Recap

Alternate post title: Thursday's Trauma. 

Coming off yesterday's 92.6-mile ride and the fun WOCN dinner in Hammond, it seemed like a great day to SAG. I let Marge begin cycling in the cool of the morning.

I was just finishing doling out water and replenishing snacks to most of the cyclists at mile 20 when a utility van pulled over to say two of our cyclists were down "back aways" because a dog had come out after them. He told me they had been able to get up and ride but they would be slow coming in. All the cyclists hustled out of the way and I did a U-turn to go back and find them.

We met back at mile 17, not too far from where their falls occurred. Two other riders had come upon the scene, and were riding with them. Nancy had just a little road rash on her right elbow and a sore hip. She was ashen. Poor Lise was all banged up with partial and full thickness skin loss on her elbow, lateral knee area, upper leg and lateral malleolus. She said she had really banged her head. Thankfully, they both had good helmets. Lise was a bit dazed. She's our physician, and all she wanted was some Neosporin. No help from me!

We laid her out in a lovely driveway, put someone's jacket under her head, elevated her leg, iced her knee, and called our guides to report the incident. We were instructed to stay put until they came to assess the situation. Lise's head began to clear and she became more amenable to care for her wounds. I opened the bag Janet Davis had brought us in Navasota and found the perfect products. Of course, we carry a well-stocked First Aid kit in the SAG Wagon, too. It was surely by divine appointment that I was the SAG driver for the morning. WOC skills and dressings were crucial.

Lise receiving medical attention after the dog attack.

By the time the guides arrived, Lise was up and demonstrating that her mentation and balance were restored and she was ready to ride. Her helmet had been cracked so Carol, the guide, gave her hers to finish the day. I drove on about 12 miles and found Marge. We agreed we should wait there to be certain Lise and Nancy were alright. Victoria was riding with them.

Lise demonstrates that she has good balance and is ready to ride.

I got my bike down and rode into Bogalusa. Marge kept a watchful eye from the SAG Wagon as the three made their way to the motel. She even used loud horn intimidation on another four dogs who were intent on chasing the riders. In Louisiana and Mississippi folks don't like to keep their canines restrained by fences or chains!

I realized, as I was riding along, that all the while I had been conversing with the lovely Southern lady about my age, Mrs. Peggy Forest, who had come out to check on the commotion in her driveway, that I was wearing my Anti Monkey Butt Powder hat with the picture of the monkey with a very red butt. I felt like I should ride all the way back and explain in case she had been offended!

After we showered and redressed Lise's wounds, I drove Nancy and Lise to Walmart* to buy new helmets. We discovered at the end of the ride that Nancy's had taken a bigger lick than she realized. It had a hole in it and a big crack. We found snazzy-looking certified helmets for each in the colors they prefer.

We came back for spaghetti, Caesar salad, pesto bread and watermelon for dinner. There was a gloppy chocolate cake for dessert, which I eschewed. I was more than ready to go to sleep at the end of that day.

We have just realized the need to re-calculate our days ahead. We only have two more weeks to ride. We had been including the arriving and departing day like WomanTours does.

2,361 miles behind us. 739 to pedal. Only 14 days to raise $16,000 dollars and get to St. Augustine.

*As we've traveled across the country we've seen Wal-Mart, Wal Mart with their snappy logo between the two words, and Walmart as one word. As long as they have ibuprofen and they're within walking or cycling distance, we don't care how they spell their name!

Dr. Jeter Day 42 on Polyvore.com

According to Katherine: Day 41

We began our day with the gorgeous breakfast at the St. Francisville Inn. I had spinach quiche, grits and a taste of their crepe with stewed apples. It was 49 degrees when we cycled out at 7:00 a.m. to join up with the rest of the group 12 miles down the way, where we fixed our snacks for the 88-mile day. Marge and I were determined to finish. I made two PB&J sandwiches, grabbed two energy bars and a bag of nuts, and we were on our way again.

At mile 42, we were surprised to see all the riders congregated around the SAG Wagon. There was a road closure, and the guides were off exploring alternate routes. I ate another half of the sandwich I had fixed. Soon, we were given a new route -- which added only four miles to the day.

In Denham Springs, we stopped at a convenience store, and met some lovely folks from the Baptist Church. One sweet gentleman gave me his card, and asked me to please send him a note when we were home safely.

We pedaled along one road with lots of strawberries growing -- made me drool! I was very good about drinking lots, and eating at least every hour.

We arrived at the motel at 5:30 p.m. with the odometer reading 92.6 miles! We were grinning from ear to ear.

The odometer says it all! This is the most miles I've ever ridden in one day.

I quickly showered, and put on nice clothes and shoes for the first time in six weeks. Myra Varnado had arranged a dinner with the local WOC nurses. What a delight it was to regroup with old friends, and meet new ones! I took some excellent video that will be posted in due time.

I savored the oysters and the sampler plate. Christine shared her bread pudding. We took fun pictures on and around the humongous alligator in the restaurant lobby. The two young servers at the restaurant were exceptional, and the restaurant comped my meal. What a splendid conclusion for a  memorable day  -- the longest ride I have ever done! We were back at the motel by 9:00 p.m. for a good sleep.

2,306 miles behind us. 794 to pedal. 17 days to go. 

Dr. Jeter Day 41 on Polyvore.com

According to Katherine: Day 35 Recap

Coni Ellis and Janet Davis represented the South Central Region, and gave me a big send-off this morning with a poster and maracas. They added great enthusiasm to our departure!

Coni Ellis and Janet Davis shaking maracas at the send off!



Janet Davis and Coni Ellis got up before dawn to drive from the Houston area to celebrate Cycling for Scholarships with Katherine. 

But before that, Janet put the perfect dressing on Marge's toe. The toenail had come off, and she needed to protect it from further damage. The timing of our WOC nursing expertise couldn't have been more perfect!

Janet has the perfect dressing to cover and protect Marge's toe where she has just lost a toenail. She brought other helpful products we can share among the group.

It was 65 degrees and cloudy when we left at 7:45 a.m. Breakfast had been a sparse bowl of raisin bran. Marge stuffed a PB&J in my back pack and I was off. I loved shifting gears on my bike! The left shifter had been replaced by Jeremiah at Aggieland Cycles on our rest day. The road was fairly flat, but sometimes I would just shift for the joy of working the gears that were performing the way they should! I am so appreciative of Dennis at Great Escape in Spartanburg for helping get this sorted out.

It was January 1969 when I flew to Cleveland for the naming and official chartering of what we know today as the WOCN. And here I am, 42 years later, on my way to Cleveland to promote WOC nursing and to raise $200,000 for the WOCN Society Foundation. I am amazed by the synchronicity of this. Cleveland, TX you understand.

By 10:00 a.m., I was digging for the PB& J sandwich. By noon, I was looking for energy bars. I ran out of steam about 2:00 p.m., and still had at least an hour to go. I was able to get more Gatorade, cold water and another energy bar from the SAG. I drank and ate as much as I could and finished the 75 miles at 3:30 p.m. with the temperature in the high 80s. This is the first day I had dealt with real perspiration.

The imposing Grimes County Courthouse.

I dashed across the street from our motel, and had a shrimp cocktail and some of the salad the others had left on their plate. After a good shower and a little emailing it was time to eat again! We had pasta salad made with sun dried tomatoes, Caesar salad and the meat eaters had chicken piccata. Dessert was strawberries, whipped cream, angel food cake and a little chocolate sauce. I ate it all. I even had three small Dove chocolates with our after-dinner coffee! I was ravenous. 

It was a great day from beginning to end. In the future, I'll be much more careful about keeping the calories up on long rides.

1,896 miles behind us. 1,204 to pedal. 23 days to go.

Dr. Jeter Day 35 on Polyvore.com

On the Cover of A Magazine

Strike a pose!

Katherine is featured as the cover story of the Health Care Appreciation supplement, included in Chicago Sun-Times newspapers today, discussing her passion for WOC nursing and, of course, impressive cross-country cycling initiative. This insert was distributed to over 300,000 individuals and institutions -- a great help in spreading word about Cycling for Scholarships to new audiences!

Not near the Windy City? Click here to read the article -- and share your comments (and congrats) for Katherine below!

According to Katherine: Day 14 Recap

Day 14 involved much-needed R&R. We slept until 6:45. ;-)

After breakfast, we cleaned the SAG Wagon. While others cleaned their bikes like we all have been encouraged to do, we strolled downtown to Gila Hike & Bike, where we left our bikes for repair last night. We'll never tell our fellow cyclists, but we paid the nice guys there to clean our bikes. It was a lovely, small price to pay! They look fine, and ride perfectly.

We had fish tacos at a trendy little restaurant, and I went for a manicure and pedicure. We did all our laundry, and figured out how to get groceries back to the motel without baskets on our bikes.

We enjoyed table service and fish tacos at this trendy little restaurant in Silver City. Sure beats PB&J standing on the side of a busy highway!

A nice treat for tired legs and feet!

Getting the groceries home without a basket on your bike requires creativity.

The big distraction of the day was a stop at the wellness center on the way to town. The scales reported  Marge has gained four pounds, and I have gained six, so those who have expressed concern about my caloric intake can give it up! No more morning waffle, and absolutely no more dessert for me.

The best news of the day came from Karen Kennedy-Evans, who called to say that the Tucson WOC nurses are donating $1,000 to Cycling for Scholarships! I hope this will inspire all the other Regions & Affiliates. It's certainly given new power to my pedal for the days ahead!

Dr. Jeter Day 14 on Polyvore.com

According to Katherine: Day 8 Recap

We left Wickenburg, AZ at 7:00 a.m. It was 50 degrees -- very, very cold! -- and the sun was barely up. I did not have on full-fingered gloves, so my hands were numb for the first hour.

The highway shoulder was very rough, so we needed to be riding on the white line of the edge of the highway, or to the right of it. I eased onto the highway a few times, and a highway patrolman pulled up beside me, rolled down his window, and barked, "I don't want to see you on this side of the white line again, ya hear me?" I was mostly compliant the rest of the way.

The challenge is to ride on the white line, or in the narrow space between the white line and the wake-up strip!

It was a great relief when we got to a newly-resurfaced stretch of road. At one of the SAG stops, we enjoyed Marlene Kropf's gorgeous grapefruit cut in wedges. So succulent.

There was a "Welcome to Phoenix" sign at least 25 miles before we reached the densely-populated area. Thank goodness for bike lanes!

The cacti stood at attention, like sentries guarding their land.

We had to go to a bike shop to have my gears and breaks worked on, and to get new cleats for Marge's shoes. We cycled several miles past the turn going uphill! Fortunately, it was downhill to get back to the road we needed! The men in the bike shop helped us locate a Verizon store to get the calendar working on my BlackBerry. The cool stores were a pleasant respite from the afternoon heat. From the Verizon store, we rode into our destination hotel. We got the laundry started, and ourselves cleaned up for dinner, which consisted of pork roast, quinoa salad and mashed sweet potatoes.

This was followed by a celebratory ice cream social, hosted by Convatec and Hollister for the Phoenix-area WOC nurses. Karen Lou Kennedy-Evans and Donna Brewer, the directors of the ET program at the Tucson Medical Center back in the 70s and 80s, drove two-and-a-half hours to be here. What a delight to see old friends, and meet new ones!

I happily fell into a deep sleep by 9:30. 50 days to go. 386.4 miles completed, and 2,713.6 ahead. This is such a joyful journey!

Dr. Jeter Day 8 on Polyvore.com

According to Katherine: Day 7 Recap

This day was made extra special by a WOC nurse.

It began at 4:45 a.m., when the low battery chirp of the smoke alarm woke us up at the Sheffler Motel in Salome, AZ. (The Sheffler Motel will be the subject of its very own coverage in due time.)

We started at 8:00 a.m., when it was an invigorating 51 degrees, and pedaled into the heat all day. It was 89 degrees when we arrived in Wickenburg -- but feels way hotter than that on the highway!

I had eggs for breakfast, and stopped for a milkshake at the Coyote Cafe in Aquila. I munched on high protein snacks, fresh fruit and potato chips every 10-20 miles, and drank gallons of water and energy drinks. Tonight's dinner by our WomenTours' chef was delectable: Lasagna, salad, garlic bread...and lemon squares baked today by Marlene Kropf, the WOC nurse who lives here and works at the Banner-Del E. Web Medical Center in nearby Sun City.

Marlene had painted a welcome sign, and put it on the highway on the western edge of town. All our riders were very impressed by my personal recognition.

Marlene called, and came to pick me up to go buy a new watch to replace mine (which died) and take some pictures with me. She picked grapefruits from the tree in her front yard, and brought them back for us to enjoy along theway. It was very gracious of Marlene and her mother to be so hospitable and helpful on our stopover here!

We are tired, but satisfied. After a good night's sleep, we should be ready for an early start for Phoenix tomorrow. 51 more days. 319.7 miles behind us, and 2,780.3 to go!

Dr. Jeter Day 7 on Polyvore.com

Spring Forward in Support of WOC Nursing!

(source)

WOCN President Dr. Bonham recently interviewed with Ostomy / Wound Management about the Cycling for Scholarships initiative. Read the article here: http://ht.ly/49yTY

Congratulations to Katherine and the WOCN for launching this unique fundraiser!

Raising Scholarship Funds, One Mile At a Time

Imagine a grueling, 3,100-mile bicycle tour. Daily treks – the shortest 39 miles, the longest a staggering 111 – cutting horizontally across numerous southern states. Four days in California. Six in Arizona. Four in New Mexico. A total of 17 to get through Texas. Five for Louisiana. And the trek doesn’t stop until it crosses the country.

You would expect youthful athletes in their mid-20s and 30s participate in this type of journey. So you may be surprised to observe one of the cyclists energetically pedaling across the country: 72-year-old Wound, Ostomy and Continence Nurses Society member Dr. Katherine Jeter. Though Dr. Jeter began cycling just three years ago, in this sport she has found an ideal way to channel her boundless energy, and raise awareness about her passion for wound, ostomy and continence (WOC) nursing.

As a nursing specialty, WOC care requires nurses receive certification before treating patients with non-healing wounds, colostomies and related body-altering conditions, and bowel and bladder disorders. And the aging American population presents an unfortunate double-edged sword: WOC nurses are retiring as the number of patients requiring this type of care increases.

Recognizing the looming crisis, Dr. Jeter is working with the WOCN Society Foundation to raise $200,000 for WOC nursing scholarships through a WomanTours excursion from March 4 through April 29, 2011.

At various stops throughout the tour, Dr. Jeter will be participating in small events – including kick-off and closing programs. She will be available before, during and after the tour for interviews, as she continues to spread the message about the important role WOC nurses play in our healthcare system, and work toward her fundraising goal. 

Check back here frequently for video, photo and other updates throughout the tour!