The Current-Argus Staff Writer in Carlsbad, South Carolina has a great story running this week about an Alabama youth who is riding his bicycle from South Caroline to Los Angeles to raise money for research of ulcerative colitis and Crohn\'s.  Hoping to help generate money to attack the disease, as Argus writer Stella Davis writes, “one mile at a time.”

Glyn Glover was 16 years old, wites Davis, when he was diagnosed in 2008 with ulcerative colitis. Since then, he has come dangerously close to dying from the disease several times, and has also faced threats just from the medications prescribe for him alone.

The ride has not gone without its bumps in the road, with harsh winter-style weather putting up roadblocks here and there, including a recent two week delay in Tyler, Texas, as well as a knee injury, Glover, who has also celebrated his 19th birthday on the road, told the Current-Argus.

Davis also writes that Glover said that “when he was told he could not play high school football this past April following a massive seizure from a medication he was taking, he decided to do something worthwhile while sitting out this year\'s football season."

"When I had the seizure, I tore the labrum and cracked my shoulder socket," he said. "The doctor was able to repair the labrum but said there would be no football for me this year. In 2009, I was hospitalized five times. On two of those occasions I received blood transfusions and a blood clotting agent. It\'s been tough, but I decided this disease was not going to rule my life," he said.

Glover\'s mother, Melissa Williams, who is driving a recreational vehicle slowly ahead of her son, said he was devastated when he was told he could not play football.

"I was rated number one high school corner back for the last two years in Birmingham and expect to play for a Division One college football team when I graduate from high school in May," Glover said. "Since I couldn\'t play football this year, I knew I had to stay in shape. I had never ridden a bike long distance, but I decided I would do that to raise money and awareness for the disease and the national organization."

Williams said her son went into training for his quest to ride his bicycle from Myrtle Beach, SC., to Los Angeles, Calif.

"He decided to do nothing and feel sorry for himself was not an option," his mother said. "I supported him and I am in a place in my life that allows me to do this with him. Glyn is also home schooled so it allows us to be on the road."

In September, writes Davis, “mother and son set out on a journey that has netted them lifetime memories and new friends. But the journey has not been easy. Glover\'s knee become problematic and caused him excruciating pain somewhere around Longview, Texas. A trip to the emergency room in Tyler, Texas, resulted in a two week stay in Tyler to recuperate after doctors strongly advised that he not ride in order to heal.”

Glover’s journey has, however been an adventure and allowed him to get close to people and situations he’d have otherwise never had an opportunity to.

"When you are driving in a car you really don\'t pay that much attention to your surroundings. But when you are on a bicycle, riding at 20 miles per hour, you see a lot of the country," Glover said. "You also have to watch the road. Some drivers have nearly run me off the road."

Davis also writes that the devout cyclists stopped to worship in churches with his mother and he has talked about his mission and the disease. “He has also found an inner strength and resolve to continue fighting the disease that almost sidelined him,” she writes.

Ulcerative colitis is an inflammation of the colon and ulceration of the colon mucosa, tiny open sores that bleed and produce pus and mucus. Crohn\'s is an inflammation of the digestive tract and affects the small intestine.

"I\'m limited to what I can eat," Glover said. "If I eat the wrong foods, I can get very sick."

Glover said that thus far, his quest to raise money for continued research and a summer camp for children with the disease is at a break-even point. “By the time he arrives in Los Angeles, he hopes that money wise, his trek will be deemed a success,”  Davis writes.

When the weather clears, Glover will head to El Paso, Texas, but at 20 mph, he expects to make it to Guadalupe Mountains National Park, where he will rest and then head into El Paso.

"This disease has almost killed me four times," Glover said. "But I\'m not giving in to it. I expect to reach Los Angeles on Jan. 1, where I am going to dip my front tire in the ocean in Santa Monica. I dipped the tire in the ocean at Myrtle Beach. After that, I\'m going home to Birmingham, graduate from high school and go to college and play football."

Readers can follow Glover\'s travels and make a donation to the Crohn\'s and Colitis Foundation by going to Glover\'s website at www.cycke4.org.

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