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Buckingham's Will Kleemeier making 4,000-mile bicycle trek

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Will Kleemeier wants people to know about the incurable kidney disease that he and hundreds of thousands of other Americans have.

To raise awareness, the Buckingham man will be setting out on a nearly 4,000-mile bike ride from Oregon to New Jersey next month to educate the public about polycystic kidney disease (PKD) and to ask for donations to support further research to find a cure.

“It’s a hidden disease,” said Kleemeier, 58, of the illness that he was diagnosed with 18 years ago. “If you look at me, you wouldn’t know I was sick.”

But, in fact, he, like approximately 600,000 others across the country, has PKD, which allow cysts to grow on the kidneys. Eventually, Kleemeier said, patients end up on dialysis; have a kidney transplant or die of renal failure. And, he noted, there’s a dramatic shortage of organ donors.

Fortunately, Kleemeier is now taking Jynarque, a drug the FDA approved in 2018, to slow the progression of the genetic disease.

A longtime biking enthusiast, Kleemeier plans to set out on his journey June 17, accompanied by his 18-year-old son, Patrick, who will drive a support van. He expects to ride about 65 miles each day and spend two months on the road.

The lengthy ride, part of a larger Pedaling for Kidney Disease fundraiser, is supporting the PDK Foundation. To support the program, visit pedalingforkidneydisease.org.

Kleemeier’s starting the trip on the West coast, he said, “because the wind usually blows west to east and it’s nice to have the wind at your back and it’s more motivating to be riding toward home.”


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