TimesLeader.com

Sweet Valley teen organizes motorcycle run in effort to raise money for RSD

By Rebecca Bria rbria@timesleader.com
Staff Writer

Katie Rusonis wants to give back to those who have helped her.

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John Rusonis, of Sweet Valley, looks approvingly at his daughter, Katie, whose senior project at Lake-Lehman Senior High School, is a motorcycle run to raise money for RSD, Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy, and the John Heinz Institute of Rehabilitation Medicine. Katie suffers from RSD.

Charlotte Bartizek/ For The Dallas Post

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The 17-year-old from Sweet Valley is holding a motorcycle run to raise money for American RSDHope and John Heinz Institute of Rehabilitation Medicine in Dallas. Rusonis, who is entering her senior year at Lake-Lehman Junior/Senior High School, organized the event as her senior project.

The fundraiser is very dear to Rusonis’ heart because she has suffered from RSD, or Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy, since the fifth-grade. RSD, also known as complex regional pain syndrome, is a chronic, painful and progressive neurological condition that affects the skin, muscles, joints, and bones.

Registration for the Been There and Back R.S.D. Motorcycle Run will be held from 9 to 10 a.m. on Sunday, Aug. 9, at Grotto Pizza in Harveys Lake. Bikers will leave at 11 a.m. and embark on a 75-mile trip up Red Rock Mountain and proceed through Sugar Hollow into Tunkhannock. They will return to the Kunkle Community Hall where there will be t-shirts, food and a 50/50 raffle.

The cost is $15 per driver and $10 per passenger for those who pre-register. The cost for people who register the day of the event is $20 per driver and $10 per passenger. Anyone who wishes to attend only the get-together at the social hall may do so for $10.

Rusonis was diagnosed with RSD after she could not even rub a sheet against the skin on her ankle because she was in so much pain. She has used crutches and a wheelchair periodically since her diagnosis. Rusonis says the disease hits her hard every other year, particularly in the wintertime.

“I’m a very big hunter so this past year when I was in the wheelchair, it hit me really hard,” she said. “I still went hunting on my quad.”

Rusonis receives physical therapy at John Heinz in Dallas and also regularly communicates with Keith Orsini, co-founder and director of American RSDHope. A motorcycle run seemed like a perfect fit for Rusonis since she and her entire family bike enthusiasts. Participants in her motorcycle ride have the option to donate their fee to either of the two organizations.

John Rusonis, Katie’s father, purchased a new 2008 Harley Davidson Ultra Glide last year in anticipation of the event. He will be the lead bike in the ride with Katie his passenger.

“I’ve been planning this since ninth-grade,” Katie said. “It’s something that is very personal for me.”

If you go

Been There and Back R.S.D. Motorcycle Run

Sunday, Aug. 9

Registration begins at 9 a.m. at Grotto Pizza, Harveys Lake

Bikers will leave for a 75-mile ride at 11 a.m. and will return to the Kunkle Community Hall.

Cost: pre-registration is $15 per driver and $10 per passenger; day-of registration is $20 per driver and $10 per passenger. Walk-ins at the community hall will be $10.

For more information, contact Katie Rusonis at 814-8871.