SANTA FE, N.M. – A father is cycling across the country to raise funds for the Ronald McDonald House, which supported his family during a challenging time.

Thirteen years ago, Jeff and Liz Bekos faced a parent’s worst nightmare when their daughter Hailey had a seizure during breakfast. Local doctors sent her to Children’s Hospital in Philadelphia, an hour from their home.

“For the first week, my wife Liz and I lived in her hospital room which is just a terrible experience,” said Jeff Bekos. The family stayed at the Ronald McDonald House in Philadelphia for 254 days.

Dr. John Peterson, board of directors chair for Ronald McDonald House New Mexico, said, “Imagine living in Roswell or Taos or Farmington or any of the beautiful communities that we have across New Mexico and learning that your child has cancer or learning that your child has another life-threatening life-altering illness.”

Now, Jeff Bekos is riding his bike to every Ronald McDonald House in the country. “Our mission today is to help spread awareness volunteerism and raise money for these houses because it’s really a community driven project,” he said.

Every dollar raised from Bekos’ ride will support the Ronald McDonald House. A link to donate to the One Dad’s Mission website is available here.