John O'Malley Bike Accident Recovery Fund

Hi everyone,

This is Katie O’Malley, and on behalf of the entire O’Malley family, I am writing to humbly request your support in assisting my dad, John O’Malley, and our family. Dad was in a terrible accident in the early morning of Friday, July 15, and he has a long road to recovery.

As most of you know, John was biking the Tour Divide–a mountain biking ride traversing the length of the Rocky Mountains, from Canada to the Mexican border. Following the 2,745-mile Great Divide Mountain Bike Route, the Tour Divide is an ultra-distance cycling ride that is an extreme test of endurance, self-reliance and mental toughness. The ride format is strictly self-supported, and the clock runs continuously from the start until riders cross the finish line.

Not only was my father on a ride of a lifetime, but he was selflessly raising money for the Ryan O’Malley Annual Ride “ROAR” in memory of his late brother, my uncle, Ryan O’Malley. 100% of those proceeds go to the Ryan O’Malley Scholarship at the University of Scranton.

Unfortunately, early Friday morning and ONLY 125 miles left of his 2,745 mile Tour, an accident occurred that resulted in John’s SOS beacon signaling the police who found him an hour later, and subsequently John was airlifted from the scene in New Mexico and taken to an intensive care unit/trauma center in El Paso, Texas. We have since learned that he has endured a traumatic brain injury. We are grateful that he is stable and conscious, but we do not know much about the accident or the full extent of his injuries. He is able to talk, albeit confused and not remembering much, and he is able to take some steps, fully assisted. At this time, John is continuing treatment at the University Medical Center of El Paso.

We have created this fundraiser as a means to help mitigate the financial burden of the accident for my family. These funds will go towards the air evac and health expenses, travel and lodging expenses for the family needed to be at John’s side for his stay and his rehab. While the final costs are unknown, we have set a target goal of $35K, and want to assure you that any unused proceeds will go towards the Ryan O'Malley Scholarship and a brain injury foundation of mom’s choice. She has been so moved by the care of the health experts.

We appreciate you all. The outpouring of LOVE, PRAYERS, SUPPORT has been unbelievable. John’s outreach into the community runs deep. He is an amazing man, and his positivity and love will no doubt come back tenfold. He loves you all.

Please feel free to contact me, Katie O’Malley, if you have resources or information that may be helpful during this time.

For more information on ROAR and the Tour, please look here: https://news.scranton.edu/articles/2022/06/alum-roar-june-2022.shtml

On behalf of my dad and our family, thank you.

Katie O.