Blog

The nursing department at IUSB is sponsoring an annual health fair that they have decided to name for our Patrick. One of Patrick’s main passions was health and fitness. This year’s IUSB health fair is concentrating on bicycles.

Pat’s former nursing instructor, Teri Dobrzykowski, is teaching a class of nurses returning to school for their BSN. She and the class are the primary planners for this upcoming bike fair. Teri invited me last week to IUSB’s nursing department and her class.

Patrick basically lived at IUSB throughout the last 15 months of his life. His nursing program was extremely intensive with 10 other classmates. Last week was the first time I ever saw IUSB’s nursing department. Speaking with the nursing class concerning the bike fair was good for me.  The entire afternoon there was quite emotional for me.

In one of my earliest posts on this website, I asked for help with making bicycle safety a major issue. IUSB’s nursing department is doing this for me. For Patrick’s honor. For our community.

Many of my new friends through the Bike Michiana Coalition will be at this bike fair. They are the ones who have been continually working for this effort even before I had given it concentrated thought.

Please come to IUSB on Tuesday, November 18:

Dear Cycling Enthusiast,

This past summer, our community lost two vibrant men tragically; they both lost their lives as a result of an auto-bike accident. Patrick Sawyer was our student; he was only a few short weeks away from graduation. He loved to share his passion and knowledge with all those he came in contact with. His death is truly our loss.

To honor his memory, and, more importantly, to do a small piece of the work that Patrick would have done, our nursing students are conducting a bike fun and safety fair on Tuesday, November 18, from 9AM-3PM, here on the IUSB campus. We will have several booths across campus, plus many sites in the Student Activity Center. We will be addressing many areas of biking: biking for fun and fitness, equipment and safety, choosing and maintaining your equipment, biking laws, family fun including how to teach children how to ride, sharing the road (driving w/cyclists in mind), and advocacy issues. We envision this health fair to be an annual event for IU South Bend.

We are hoping that you and your establishment will join us in this critical effort. We will welcome any assistance you can provide. Some examples may include:

* Set up a bike maintenance or choosing a “right” bike booth
* Provide various equipment for use at the bike safety maze and review by attendees
* Help with a safe biking maze

The time is now for our community to make vital changes in how cycling and cyclists are viewed; how cyclists and motorists conduct themselves on the roadways. Your assistance is the key in how we can make these changes occur; changes that Patrick would have been proud of. Please consider helping us in any way you can!

Thank you for your time and consideration. Please feel free to contact us with any questions you may have. We will be contacting you in about 5-7 days regarding your ability to help us in our efforts.

Cordially,

Teresa M. Dobrzykowski, DNS, APRN-BC, Assistant Professor, Nursing
Patricia L. Trethewey, MSN, APRN-BC, Clinical Lecturer, Nursing