Hi, my name is Ben Harder. To make a long story short I want to share a few details about what I plan on doing. March 5th to March 9th will be a crazy time! I plan on riding my bike from Defiance, Ohio to Decatur, Alabama over those 5 days! I am not doing this alone though... my good friend Wes Chenault will be joining me in riding about 567 miles in a 5 day period - and our brother Jason Haines is going to be driving his truck (pulling a RV Camper for us as well) as a mobile emergency station in case we run into troubles - mechanical, medical, or anything otherwise! I want to raise as much money as possible for my dear Brother in Christ - Aaron Hopson and his family! They are going through something I am far too familiar with.... let me explain.

Aaron Hopson's 19 year old son, Alex is currently on dialysis and is in need of a new kidney. And we all know health care in the United States is not free ... or cheap. 

Alex has a kidney disease called IGA Vasculitis. If it were possible for me to donate him a kidney - I would.... but I cannot! In the summer of 2021 I donated my left kidney to my brother Jonathan Harder in London, Ontario. I only have one kidney left, but this does not mean that I can't do anything to help! SO... I decided to do something hard, something many people would never consider! We will Ride4Alex! Help me raise money for the Hopson family! While they go through the process of dialysis treatments, and exploring the kidney transplant process - which I know is not an easy one - Let's try and make their time easier by helping them with covering some costs of medical expenses, food, trips to and from the hospital, etc. The Hopson's are such a kind, and loving family who Love God! I wand to do this to show them that God's family is alive and well and willing to help! 

This GiveSendGo page will raise money for the Hopson Family! Some expenses for the ride will also be covered from funds raised but a cheque will be written after the ride is completed and made out to the Hopson Family! 

Thank you for your prayer and financial support for Ride4Alex!

Now check out a short story of what the Hopson's life has looked like for the last year or so!

The Hopson Story:

The last week of Sept 2022, our oldest son Alex was taken to the ER because he had extreme swelling of his face and could barely open his eyes, he was also violently vomiting to the point where he had an extensive amount of broken blood vessels clearly showing in his face and the whites of his eyes were completely turned blood shot. After the ER ran some blood tests, they found that his BUN and Creatinine levels were dangerously high and shipped him via ambulance to St. Vincent Mercy Hospital in Toledo, Ohio. Alex had been diagnosed several years earlier with a rare kidney disease called Henoch Schönlein Purpura, or IGA Vasculitis. His condition took a rapid turn for the worse and Alex needed immediate dialysis, steroid treatments, and other medical interventions in order for him to stabilize. Once he was stable and a biopsy was done, he was told he had glomerulonephritis, his kidneys function was measured to be about 15%, and that his kidneys had about 80% scarring and would not recover. Alex would need to have a kidney transplant. After a week in the heart and vascular center at St. V’s, Alex was sent home and continues to receive dialysis while we await the kidney transplant. His dialysis started at 3 times a week for 3.5 hours but was then moved to 4 hour treatments. Alex had a peritoneal port placed in his stomach at the end of November and just began doing peritoneal dialysis instead of hemodialysis, which means he can now to home treatments every night when he sleeps for about 6 hours each night. Alex is an amazing young man that inspires others to laugh. He loves Jesus and even sings on the Xperience Church Worship Team. His faith and positive attitude is so contagious and he had inspired others to stand firm in their love of the Lord, regardless of the circumstances he’s dealing with. He truly is a light in this world and is loved by so many people. We stand in agreement with Alex and know that God has a huge call on Alex’s life and we believe he will get a kidney soon and his life will return to normal