School Teacher Shares His Dream at Texas Children's

Bryon Vouga, 30, should have no problem answering the question "What did you do on your summer vacation?" when he returns to teaching his 10th grade class in Yorba Linda, Calif., this fall.

Bryon Vouga, with guest traveler Rena Dee in hand, talks with Valerie Garza, 12, (center) and her cousin Andrew, 10, during his visit to the Texas Children's Renal Dialysis Unit.

He has dreamed for more than 10 years of bicycling across the country and this summer that dream came true. Vouga has battled kidney disease, clinically referred to as end-stage renal disease or ESRD, since the age of 16, and by the age of 25, he had endured two failed kidney transplants. The anemia he experienced as a result of his disease tired Vouga to the point that he could not complete everyday activities, let alone ride his bike cross-country.

Then in 1989, Vouga began taking injections of EPOGEN® (Epoetin alfa), a drug that signals the bone marrow to produce more oxygen-carrying red blood cells. The increased level of red blood cells, and therefore oxygen throughout the body, gave Vouga the energy he needed to perform those tasks he previously could not - and to finally pursue his dream.

Leaving from Huntington Beach, Calif., on June 25 and completing his cross-country journey in Jacksonville, Fla., on July 26, Vouga logged more than 2,700 miles and many smiles along the way.

Houston, and more specifically, the Renal Dialysis Unit at Texas Children's Hospital, became a chapter in Vouga's story on July 14, when he took a break from his journey to visit with patients. He brought with him a guest traveler familiar to those in the Unit - a 16-inch doll named Rena Dee. The doll was created at Texas Children's and travels around the world as a support network for children who have kidney disease. At the end of Vouga's visit, children from the Unit presented him with two special pieces of artwork made of empty EPOGEN bottles placed in the shape of a bicycle wheel.

When asked what message he would like to give the patients, Vouga said, "To dream and to strive to reach your dreams."

Vouga's itinerary consisted of riding 100 miles each day, with four rest days and 15 stops along the way for dialysis treatment. A team of supporters - led by Vouga's fiancee Heather - followed behind him in a van.

More than 250,000 Americans are fighting chronic kidney failure and approximately 200,000 require dialysis treatment to keep them alive. Vouga is striving to make a difference in the lives of others by raising money for the National Kidney Foundation of Southern California (NKFSC) on his trip. The NKFSC is sponsored the bike ride along with Amgen, the company that produces EPOGEN.

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©2006 Texas Medical Center

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