75-летний мотоциклист завершил 5000-мильный трансатлантический ралли ради помощи детям с гемофилией

CORNING, N.Y. (WENY) — Corning is the 12th stop for a 75-year-old Montana man riding his motorcycle across America to raise awareness of rare bleeding disorders. Traveling 5,000 miles in one month can be daunting, but for Richard Williams, it’s a way to raise awareness. “So now that I'm retired and settled in my life, I wanted to do something to pay back, because I know what challenges we had as parents raising my son Trevor, and my heart goes out to people who didn't have all the good advantages that we had,” said Williams. 37 years ago, Williams and his wife had twins. They were elated to welcome two new members to their family, but their happiness was short-lived. "We had just lost one twin, and it was heartbreaking, and then finding out the other one had a bleeding disorder; we thought after all that we'd gone through we might lose both boys,” said Williams. “It was devastating for his mother and me. As a child, Trevor Williams was diagnosed with hemophilia A, a rare condition that causes prolonged bleeding. Cleveland Clinic attributes the disease to a lack of proteins, which cause clotting and allow wounds to heal. Hemophilia can be life-threatening if left untreated, and the Williams family was told Trevor likely wouldn’t live past 18. When the day of Trevor’s 18th birthday rolled around, Richard Williams had one thought in his head: “Hooray! We beat the odds!” His son survived childhood and still lives a healthy life even with his condition. Now, Williams is spending his retirement raising awareness of bleeding disorders. He is riding across the country with Save One Life, an organization dedicated to improving the quality of life for those with bleeding disorders. He was selected as their 2026 Wheels for the World rider after he was inspired by his friend who had completed the journey on a bicycle. “This friend of mine rode his bicycle across the country to sponsor Save One Life, and he motivated me,” said Williams. “I was a little ashamed, you know, because he did this not having children with hemophilia, and me having a son, I thought, ‘All right, that guy could do it on a bicycle; I can do it on my old Gold Wing.’” In addition to raising awareness through the Wheels for the World ride, Williams sponsors other children with bleeding disorders to help them afford life-saving care. “I've been sponsoring children in other countries for a long time now, and currently I'm sponsoring a little boy in Honduras who has a severe hemophilia like my son. There's another little boy in Africa that we are sponsoring,” said Williams. “That's what Save One Life does; they find the children who are really in the toughest situation, put their faces and their story on their website.” His ride ends on Friday, but Williams said he has enjoyed raising awareness and meeting new people. “I've had a marvelous experience. I've met some great people and had a great ride seeing this beautiful country we live in, and it's been gratifying for me, and I'm hoping that through all the different people I've spoken with, like you here in Corning, that people will see there's a significance here, and there's a need, and people will donate to saveonelife.net, and we can maybe sponsor some more kids with hemophilia.”