KAYSVILLE, Utah – Fighting through debilitating pain can be a lonely battle – on that cuts off rather than connects.

But for a Davis County man, the decision to embark on the open road on a journey of self discovery opened up a way to help others, one mile at time.

Mike McDonough loves to hop on his bicycle and just ride. Though he’s far from a professional cyclist, he does enjoy putting the pedal to the pavement – until debilitating neuropathy threatened to detour his life for good.

“Maybe being burned, stabbed with needles or legs being crushed or heart rates changing and pulse, and people can sweat, can’t sweat,” he said as he described some of the severe symptoms.

The signals to the brain are false, but they’re no less painful.

“Your body is going to hurt whether your’e sitting on the couch or doing an activity,” he said. “So if you do an activity, at least your mind is gonna love you for it.”

For Mike, that activity started as a seemingly impossible idea: ride a bike more than 300 miles from St. George to Kaysville.

This was not an easy task with the topography of the Beehive State. However, the ups and downs of living with such a painful condition kept Mike and his traveling companion riding mile after mile toward the finish line off increased sympathy and understanding.

“There’s a lot of hidden illnesses that people have disabilities with that aren’t seen on the outside that people are suffering with on the inside,” Mike said. “So maybe have some compassion.”

Mike made it in about a week’s time.

In addition to the sore muscles, he raised more than $12,000 to pay it forward. He said he wants to find another person suffering with neuropathy who might be able to put the pain on the back burner with the help of an e-bike.

What started as a decade of disability has now given way to discovery for Mike, who wants to make e-bike recreatiion a reality for many others who just need a little push.

Our friends at America First Credit Union decided to help out with the cause, and they sent Mike a $500 gift card.

If you’d like to help out or if you know someone who would benefit from an e-bike to help work their way through neuropathy, go to Mike’s “Pedal Through Pain” Facebook page. 

Do you know someone doing good in our community? A friend or family member building up neighbors or a coworker giving selflessly? Click here to nominate them for a KSL High 5.