In August 2007 after a bone marrow biopsy, Vinnie was diagnosed with a rare form of Leukemia. 80% of his bone marrow was cancerous and he was extremely ill. He was immediately put on an 8 day 24 hr chemotherapy drip, which thankfully was successful in bringing him into remission.

As the days of treatment and recovery turned into weeks and the medical bills began to pile up, Vinnie began to wonder how anyone could afford to have cancer or any other serious disease, even if, like himself, they were lucky enough to have insurance. What would happen if they had to wait for treatment? He posed this question to one of his nurses and she replied, in a shockingly matter-of-fact way “Oh, they die.”

Vinnie decided at that moment to do everything that he could to help the terminally ill and their families. To do everything he could to prevent this horrible injustice from destroying more lives. He heard that his friend Jill Garret had founded an organization that did just that and it is called Maximum Hope Foundation.

Maximum Hope Foundation is a non-profit organization designed to help families dealing with the financial hurdles that often accompany caring for a terminally ill child.

Vinnie decided that he would ride a bike and compete in Ultracycling events for these families. He would raise money at every race, 100% of which would go directly to these families with the help of Maximum Hope. Vinnie is deeply grateful for his daily reprieve from leukemia, for his chance to give back to those less fortunate than himself and for the tireless work of Maximum Hope.

To learn more about Maximum Hope go to: http://www.maximumhopefoundation.org/mission.htm