VOL. 53 ISSUE 20 MAY 24, 2016 P37
"I definitely have a long race
ahead of me," Abbott said via
his Facebook fan page. "I will be
doing 14 days of chemo then 10
days at home, then back to the
hospital for 14 days and repeat-
ing for five months. After the
chemo cycle is done we'll see
how things look and go from
there."
Since the announcement, Ab-
bott and his family have received
an outpouring of support from
the off-road community, includ-
ing a GoFundMe page that
met its goal of $50,000 in less
than 12 hours (and is now over
$100,000). While he still actively
participates in the ISDE and
the AMA EnduroCross Series,
Abbott currently makes his living
through his DA8 Training Facil-
ity that features riding schools,
cross training and fitness boot
camp. The financial support is
a welcome relief in the face of
medical bills and not being able
to work.
"I'm floored by everyone's
support and it means more to
me than you know!" Abbott said.
"This has been the hardest thing
I've ever dealt with and I thought
I had put my body through a lot
already!
"I still don't know what to
expect with all the treatment so I
think that's the hardest part right
now. We've checked our options
and [we] have amazing doctors
around us that specialize in the
type of leukemia I have, so at
this point I'm confident this is by
far the best way to go. It's going
to be a long road and I'm fine
with that. I'm up for the chal-
lenge!"
The show of support for
Abbott reached all the way to
Hangtown for the opening round
of the Pro Motocross Champion-
ship, where factory Kawasaki
and Pro Circuit riders all ran
"DA8 Strong" stickers on their
bikes.
A number of motorcycle
companies, including Cycle
News, Pole Position Raceway,
Kawasaki Motors Corp. USA,
AMA District 37, GNCC Racing,
Racer X, Dirt Bike magazine,
Dirt Rider magazine, MAVTV,
Lucas Oil, EnduroCross, Sidi
and Mark Kariya Photography
(among many others) will be
hosting a fundraiser at Pole Posi-
tion Raceway in Corona, Califor-
nia on June 21 from 5-10 P.M.
The event will feature indoor kart
racing, silent and live auction
items, food trucks and celebrity
appearances. Anyone wishing to
support the event should email
Ken Faught at Ken@PolePosi-
tionRaceway.com.
The DA8 Facility will also host
its own Family Fun Day fundrais-
er for Abbott at Canyon Moto-
cross on June 4 where Destry
will be raffling off his Kawasaki
KX500 two-stroke he just built.
Riding, food, games and an
EnduroCross demo from Taylor
Robert and Max Gerston will
take place at the Canyon Race-
way MX Park in Peoria, Arizona,
June 4 from 7 A.M. until noon.
The Destry Abbott Leukemia
Fund will remain open for anyone
wishing to donate https://www.
gofundme.com/24pwufw, but
the Abbott family is not solely
looking for financial support.
"This money isn't everything
to us but it is definitely taking
an added stress away that he
doesn't need right now," said
Destry's daughter Kelsey Abbott.
"But he likes cards, stories, pho-
tos and prayers just as much!"
Messages of support can be
directed to his Facebook fan
page at Facebook.com/destry.
abbott or via Instagram @destry-
abbott.
Abbott is facing his long
road to recovery with the same
dogged determination that has
earned him 10 national champi-
onships and seven ISDE gold
medals. "Anyone that knows me
knows I always give it 100% with
everything and enjoy life to its
fullest. I don't have any regrets
and just want to do my best
to get back to feeling normal
(which has been a long time,
and now I understand why). I'm
really missing my family, DA8
gym family, riding students and
riding partners. However I feel
very confident with my support
system and amazing sponsors
supporting me through this!" CN
