When I went to Fairbanks to visit Lance Mackey last winter, I knew I was meeting one of dog-sled racing鈥檚 greatest champions on the downslide of his success. Even so, the relentlessly optimistic Mackey was feeling good about his chances at a comeback.
It didn鈥檛 happen, and since then Mackey has endured more than his share of setbacks. Zorro, the beloved long-time anchor of his kennel, died in June. Last week came news that Mackey himself was back in the hospital, a place he knows all too well. Radiation from the cancer treatments that saved Mackey鈥檚 life back in 2001 had caused most of his teeth to fall out and severely weakened his jawbone, but now he had to undergo surgery to remove the last two teeth he had. He was also two-thirds of the way through a series of 30 hyperbaric-oxygen treatments that could strengthen his jawbone enough to support artificial teeth.
Mackey has health insurance, but it apparently doesn鈥檛 cover oral surgery. He recently told a reporter for the Alaska Dispatch that for this and subsequent treatments. Musher Kirsten Ballard , and fans of Mackey have already contributed more than a third of the total. 鈥淲hy am I doing it?鈥 Ballard said to the Dispatch. 鈥淏ecause Lance won鈥檛 ask and because I care.鈥
Read more about Lance Mackey and his quest to keep on mushing.