Scottsdale, Ariz., residents and “cancer thrivers” Chuck and Hannah Keels take a day off of their 3,000-mile cross-country journey for cancer awareness to visit downtown Silver City last week.
Chuck Keels takes an e-bike through downtown Silver City last week, passing by the Silver City Museum. Chuck and his wife, Hannah, are on a 3,000-mile cross-country journey for cancer awareness.
Hundreds of cyclists travel through Silver City each year, and all have their own unique stories of what brought them here. Husband and wife Chuck and Hannah Keels are currently traveling 3,000 miles across the country with their miniature Australian shepherd, Jax, from a start in San Diego to a planned finish in St. Augustine, Fla., to raise awareness for their Living Hope Cancer Foundation, through which they encourage people to “Get Up and Live.”
“Here’s the cool thing about the ride — you dip your back tire into the ocean in California,” Chuck said. “Then, when you get to St. Augustine, Florida, you dip your front tire in the ocean, and that puts the big exclamation point on the ride.”
Chuck is cycling his way across the country, while Hannah and Jax follow closely behind in an RV. The Scottsdale, Ariz., residents made their way through Silver City last week, and told the Daily Press they had a blast here, meeting amazing people.
“We ride for three days and then we have a day off, so we were in Silver City for two days,” Chuck said. “Our neighbor in the RV park let us use their e-bikes — we rode all over Silver City, and went to Little Toad Creek downtown and everything.”
He said they spent time meeting with people and sharing their stories — including hugs and tears, at times.
Hannah and Chuck met in late 2019, when Hannah needed help publishing her book. They got married Jan. 1, 2020, right before the COVID-19 pandemic.
“When I met Chuck in late 2019 — we dated for three months and got married — I was actually stable,” Hannah said. “Five months after we got married, my neck broke, and that started a whole series of different little fractures — having fusions in my neck and fusions in my lower back, a lot of wheelchair time and rehabbing.”
The couple started the Living Hope Foundation in February 2020, and have since left their jobs to work for the foundation full time. They have built a somewhat large social media following on TikTok, with more than 30,000 followers, and more than 7,000 subscribers on YouTube.
“The foundation represents getting up and living, even when you’re going through tough things in life,” Chuck explained. “That’s what we try to inspire and coach people to do.”
Chuck was diagnosed with stage four prostate cancer in 2015, and was given only three months to live. But with 90 percent of his bones affected by cancer, he said, he had a moment of healing that changed his life miraculously.
“I used to design landscaping and swimming pools all over the Phoenix valley,” Chuck said. “After my cancer journey myself, I started to kind of veer out of that and help cancer people whenever they call. Hannah was actually an OR nurse before her cancer journey.”
Hannah was diagnosed with stage four breast cancer in 2016 — and the progression of the disease in March 2020 resulted in a fractured neck and radiation treatments, which caused esophageal ulcerations and resulted in a feeding tube for seven weeks.
In the fall of 2020, she was back to eating and exercising, including jet-skiing, zip-lining and even kayaking. However, she experienced a small fracture in her lower spine in December 2020, and a compression fracture at the L4 level in March of 2021, due to her cancer’s progression to her spine. These fractures required an aggressive seven-hour spinal fusion and femur-pinning, and caused her to be confined to a wheelchair for more than three months.
“Physically, it has been quite a challenge,” Hannah said. “I also recognize I can do a lot from a recliner at home, so it didn’t really stop me, as far as the things I can do for the foundation. Over the holidays this past New Year’s, I was bedridden for 26 days, and found out later on that it was from three really minor fractures in my pelvis which put me in a wheelchair in January. I was able to use physical therapy to get back out of it.”
Hannah continues to heal and live out the coaching she and Chuck offer others. She said she is feeling a whole lot better now, and while she has had a lot of physical downs, she has rehabbed out of them very quickly. Now she is back to walking and doing household chores around the RV.
The couple have around 2,300 miles left to go on their journey across the country, which they plan on finishing in 75 days.
“We try to do around 50 miles a day,” Chuck said. “What I’ll do is ride for 25 miles, and then take a break — get off the bike, loosen up my shoes, and hang out with Jax and Hannah. I can comprehend 25 miles — I can’t comprehend 3,000 miles.”
They call themselves “cancer thrivers,” and hope to help as many people as possible through their stories and journey across the country. The couple have a combined total of three published books, including “Get Up and Live” by Chuck and Hannah Keels, “Faith Like Skin” by Hannah Keels, and “Hi … I’m Chuck” by Chuck Keels.
To invite Chuck to personally tell his story to a group of any size, or to support and follow their journey across the country, go to getupandlive.org.
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April 21, 2022 at 02:07AM
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