Riders help amputee near Quimby

If any of the riders complained during the climb up one of the day’s toughest hills, just east of Quimby, they quit their whining at the top, where Brenda McVinua stood on crutches.

Her right leg had been amputated just below the knee, and she was raising money for a prosthetic replacement. Signs with a life-size photo the 43-year-old Storm Lake native were posted along the route leading up to her road-side stand, where her family and friends offered brownies and bottled water to encourage donations.

McVinua, who works as an athletic trainer at Southern Illinois University, said the trouble with her leg started three years ago.

“On Aug. 18, 2007, I woke up with a headache and went downhill from there,” she said, explaining that the cause was a rare blood infection called purpura fulminans.

Her leg developed dark spots within hours after the headache, and by the end of the day she checked herself into the hospital.

“If I hadn’t done that, I wouldn’t have made it,” she said.

After months in the hospital, she decided to have the leg amputated in early summer 2008 and has had 35 reconstructive surgeries since then. As soon as the leg heals from the most recent round, she’ll be ready for the prosthetic – even if her bank account may not. The prosthetic costs about $40,000, not including the multiple trips to the hospital.

But McVinua, who pedaled several days of RAGBRAI years ago, remains optimistic. Her orthopedic doctor at Mayo Clinic is a RAGBRAI veteran and has encouraged her to ride again after she receives the new leg.

“Nothing stops me, obviously,” she said, pausing to re-tell her story to another rider as he pressed a wadded-up bill into her hand.

She laughed. “You know, my sister made me a shirt that says ‘Leg story: $10.’ I should have worn it today.”

To learn more about her story and where to send a donation, visit www.caringbridge.org/visit/brendamcvinua.

— Michael Morain

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