Hello, and welcome to what will be our fourth annual 'Journey for X' charity bike ride. Since 2020, myself and my family have organised a > 500 km bike ride in different countries across the world, in order to raise awareness for AL amyloidosis - a disease which sadly took my brother Xavier's life on July 16th, 2020 at the young age of 30. Through the first three Journey for X rides, we have cycled a rolling total of 1,712 km across 21 days collectively, and have raised nearly £30,000.00 GBP in funding for research. We have also successfully created a bursary at the British Columbia Institute of Technology (BCIT), called the "Xavier James Edward Aguirre Memorial Bursary for Amyloidosis Awareness."

This years journey will be "Vancouver2Vancouver." The host countries are the United States of America, and Canada, starting from Vancouver, WA and finishing in Vancouver, BC. Last year's ride in Ireland was our biggest yet, and saw us peddling across 622 km of the Emerald Isle. This year, we will be cycling just under 600 km across seven days, and we hope to surpass last year's fundraising effort of £13,226.63 to donate towards amyloidosis research.

What is amyloidosis? Amyloidosis is a rare disease that occurs when abnormal proteins called amyloid build up in various tissues and organs in the body, interfering with their normal function. The amyloid protein is produced in the bone marrow and can accumulate in any part of the body, including the heart, kidneys, liver, spleen, nervous system, and digestive tract. It is considered a rare disease, and as with many rare diseases there is no cure for AL amyloidosis. However, if caught early, it can be treated and managed, which means that early intervention is crucial. If not treated the result can be devastating - as seen with my brother Xavier.

New research into ATTR amyloidosis (hereditary amyloidosis) has found evidence that suggests the possibility of reversing cardiac amyloidosis with the use of antibodies. This sort of notion is something that would not have been thought to be possible previously, and it is a truly ground-breaking discovery. Our hope is that with more research, AL amyloidosis can have similar breakthroughs, and one day there may even be a cure.

If you are interested in supporting our cause, we appreciate any donations. Equally important as well is to simply spread the word by sharing the link so that we may raise as much awareness about this horrible disease as we can. We have a website as well as social media pages, where we provide updates about the bike ride and any other fundraising efforts that we have. All relevant links can be found below. Xavier's full story can be found on our website, as well as detailed information and photos from previous rides. We also welcome any sponsorships or donations to the ride itself. In previous years we have been fortunate to receive sponsors for our cycling t-shirts and some of our cycling equipment, so every little bit helps.

Thank you all for your continued support in helping us keep Xavier's memory alive while also paving a path to supporting others currently living with this disease. To see where our donations have gone in the past, please check out the links below to our website and our previous fundraising pages.

WEBSITE: www.amyloidosisawareness.com

FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/AmyloidosisAwarenessJourney

TWITTER: https://twitter.com/amyloidosisx?

INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/amyloidosis_awareness_x/

2021 FUNDRAISING PAGE: https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/aja-aguirre-xroads-of-amyloidosis

2022 FUNDRAISING PAGE: https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/journeyforx

2023 FUNDRAISING PAGE: https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/journey?utm_term=wYBqepjBN