By. K.D. Norris

ken@wktv.org

Kentwood resident and avid bicyclist Ken Smith arrived back home Wednesday, 2,500 miles into a west coast-to-east coast trip to raise funds for his grandson, Jakob,  and awareness of all persons with neurological damage.

He biked into town with a photo, and loving memories, of Jakob in front of him and the sure knowledge that his hometown fire departments and fire departments across the nation have his back.

Smith, 70, whose father was a fireman and son is a fireman, is riding from the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic Ocean — Seaside, Oregon, to Boston, Massachusetts — in hopes of raising $30,000 to provide for possible care of and therapy for Jakob.

And while on the road, and in his West Michigan home area, firemen and fire departments have been rallying to his cause.

“The support from firefighters has been wonderful so far,” Smith said, surrounded by family and firemen at the City of Kentwood Fire Department Station 1, near City Hall.

Smith first gained support when he went to the City of Grand Rapids fire department and got a letter of introduction which he and his sister, Lois Unbehagen, have used to notify fire departments along his route of his pending arrival.

“I’d go up to them (fire departments) and knock on the door, and they’d let me in,” He said. “We stayed at a couple fire halls along the way, or they made provisions to put me up in a hotel. … In Orofino, Idaho, I was met by a police escort.”

And when he came home for his short stay — his wedding anniversary is next week — the Kentwood Fire Department was welcoming and supportive as well.

“When we heard about Ken’s journey, we felt it was important to help provide a warm welcome home,” Kentwood Fire Chief Brent Looman said to WKTV. “Jakob’s father is a firefighter and adjusts his schedule to care for his son. We know first-hand how the fire service is a deeply rewarding, yet demanding vocation. Being there to welcome Ken back to his hometown was the least we could do to show our support for the family.”

It is all about family 

Supporting family — specifically son Jason and daughter-in-law Sue, Jakob’s parents —  is the driving force behind Ken Smith’s journey. Jason is a firefighter in London, Ontario, Canada.

“At Christmas time (2017) I said  (to Jason) ‘What happens if something happens to you?’ He said the biggest challenge they’d have is for a care provider. An emergency care provider. And for speech therapy. … (Jakob, now 16 years old) was supposed to die at the age of two, that is what the neurologist said. They said he’d never speak, never walk. Well, he does walk, but he doesn’t speak. And so he needs speech therapy as well. He just turned 16. But if anything happens …”

Ken Smith has set up a Facebook page (facebook.com/rideforjake/) and a GoFundMe page (gofundme.com/ride-pacific-to-atlantic-for-jakob) to detail his journey and raise the funds.

“I just had this idea at Christmas time, I said, ‘Well, I’m going to raise funds. What I am going to do is I’m going to ride my bike from the Pacific to the Atlantic. It was an old bucket list, a thing I wanted to do,” Ken Smith said. So far he has travelled about 2,500 miles in 38 days and “I got another 800, 900, a thousand miles to go.”

With every mile, though, front and center on his mind is Jakob.

“He’ll never know, but all the time I think about him,” Smith said, fighting back tears as he spoke. “You have no idea, as I went across the country, people who said ‘My son, my daughter, my sister, my brother, somebody has the same kind of condition. And what your doing is going to touch people.’ I had his picture there all the time. And I will say that not one time during the trip did I say ‘I wish this thing was over.’ The only thing I did say was ‘I wish this day was over.’ ”

And as far as making his $30,000 goal?

“Those funds are earmarked for his care … I am nowhere near that. But I believe the Lord is in control and what will happen will happen.”