Photo: Provided by Carl Stevens
SWAMPSCOTT, Mass. (WBZ NewsRadio) – An injured bicyclist, who helped give back to those in need, is getting his own aid from his local community.
For more than two decades, Ben Yellin of Swampscott rode his bike in the Pan Mass Challenge, raising more than $70,000 for cancer research. Now, Yellin needs help of his own after a bicycle accident that happened in September in Marblehead left him a quadriplegic.
“He was alert when I got there,” said Yellin’s wife Marcy, “but I could see it was a really bad accident.”
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Yellen was rushed to the hospital with serious spinal cord injuries. Now, the once active 66-year-old man is confined to a wheelchair with little movement left in his arms and none in his legs.
Marcy said her husband will be home in January and that a GoFundMe page has been set up to help cover the cost of medical bills that insurance won’t cover. The page was organized by those close to the couple and said the Yellin’s impact on the community has been felt by many.
“Ben and Marcy Yellin are not the type of people that would ever ask for help, yet they would not hesitate to drop everything to help their community,” the page read. “The Yellin's have left their mark around the community and have hopefully left a lasting impact for many years to come.”
Aside from raising money for cancer, Yellin also rode his bike three times across Israel to help raise money for the Ramah Camps Tikvah Program for Disabilities. Yellin also ran the Tour de Shuls on the North Shore to raise money for Camp Ramah in the Berkshires.
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Knowing how much the couple has done for others, Marcy said the community has showed an outpouring of support.
“The community has been so, so with us on this whole thing,” she said. “They’ve been so supportive.”
As of Tuesday afternoon, the GoFundMe had raised nearly half of its $250,000 goal.
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