BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — This is how Brendon Bittner rolls, literally. He travels just about anywhere on his rollerblades.
"I was living in New York for the last year got really into rollerblading there and just started taking my distance further and further," Bittner said.
But now, Bittner is setting his sights on an even greater distance. He's traveling from Canalside in Buffalo to Toronto over the next two days.
"Last week, I finished rollerbladin' from Hamburg to Ellicottville, so that was kind of my true test to be able to tell myself, 'Yeah, I can do this,'" he said.
"The point of this whole trip is to try and instill some kind of hope," he shared.
Hope — for his cousin Mary.
"She was diagnosed with cancer three weeks after she gave birth to her first child," he explained.
Doctors found a tumor in Mary's heart. Thankfully, it was successfully removed, but she has a long road to recovery.
"She always looked out for me. She's the most empathetic person I know. She's the epitome of being a good Christian. Yeah, she's always gone above and beyond to take care of us," Bittner said.
So that's why he is embarking on a 100-mile journey to Canada raising awareness and money for Mary's cancer treatment.
"I know Buffalo is the City of Good Neighbors and I'm hoping they're willing to help us out," he said.
So far a GoFundMe for Mary has raised nearly $40,000 almost meeting their $70,000 goal.
With each mile, Bittner hopes his trek to Canada makes a difference.
"No cancer diagnosis is easy to take but really anything the community can do to help support her, it would mean a lot to us," he said.
