Seven years ago, before Parkinson’s disease stole his mobility and COVID-19 stole his last breath, then 81-year-old Dan McGuire spent two summers biking across Canada.
His daughter, Tara McGuire, did not perceive her father’s preference for touching the far reaches of this vast country. The endless pedaling under the scorching summer sun, the wind, the burning thighs—it was a lot for a man suffering from arthritis. in his knees, scoliosis in his spine, and the onset of the disease that she said would leave him curled up, like a “little question mark of mourning. “
In fact, he had already done it before, years before. Why do it again?
“Because I love Canada,” was his explanation for it, she said.
McGuire began his work in 2013 on the Top of the World Highway in the Yukon, Canada’s westernmost highway. As his illness progressed, he swapped his road bike for a recumbent motorcycle and drank his beer at the end of the day through a straw.
But 10,000 kilometers later, he arrived at the Cape Spear Lighthouse in Newfoundland. When asked by a local CBC reporter why he did that, he replied, “It’s to have a purpose. “
McGuire, 88, died on Dec. 12 of COVID-19 at his long-term care home in Coquitlam. He leaves behind his wife, June Gallagher, six children, several grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
He was an engineer for much of his career, but his hobby was cycling. McGuire is a member of the BC. Hikers Cycling Club and Vancouver Cycling Club.
When he can no longer take long trips, he remains active as a board member and as a volunteer.
“He wanted to show that other people with Parkinson’s disease could still be mobile,” his daughter said.
He made sure that message resonated as he told his father’s story on CBC’s The Vinyl Cafe in 2015.
McGuire had been living in a long-term care facility for a year. Recently, the facility experienced a COVID-19. La last week, Tara FaceTimed with her father and may just realize she’s not feeling well.
He tested positive for the coronavirus on Dec. 9, three days before he died.
“He was very aggressive. He took it very, very quickly,” Tara said. “I just couldn’t breathe. “
Tara was able to make a stopover with her father some time before his death. He was grateful to see her because, aside from his wife June, she was the first family member he had seen in use in nine months due to restrictions, he said.
It’s “old” but vibrant, she says. He celebrated his birthday two weeks before his death, with a big chocolate cake, poetry and jokes. His apartment would have won the vaccine in the coming days or weeks, he said.
If it weren’t for COVID-19, she believes he’d still be alive.
He will be remembered for his accomplishments in cycling, Tara said, and for the characteristics she admired in him: his curiosity, his pictorial ethics and his love of the outdoors.
She will also never forget those who cared for him during this exceptionally difficult time.
“When I was there, the nurse came in and he touched my dad. He stroked his arms and he was very kind and respectful. ‘Mr. McGuire, how are you doing? I’m here to look after you,'” Tara said.
“I’m just so grateful, for not only just the physical work, but the warmth … they were always just really sweet and kind. And that goes a long way.”
Public Relations, CBC P. O. P. Box 500, Station To Toronto, ON Canada, M5W 1E6
Toll-free (Canada only): 1-866-306-4636
It is a precedent for CBC to create products that are available to everyone in Canada, adding others with visual, auditory, motor and cognitive challenges.
Closed Captioning and Described Video is available for many CBC shows offered on CBC Gem.