THANK YOU!!!

All good things must come to an end, and the "24 Hours for Tom" fundraiser has officially drawn to a close. The financial support shown for the O'Connor family exceeded everyone's expectations, and the fundraiser was definitely a resounding success!

The bike race also went well for Joe - He finished 6th out of 16 solo men, having completed 12 laps of the course for 144 miles of racing. Joe's total ride time on the bike was nearly 17 hours over the course of the race. A large group of friends and family was on hand to support Tom and cheer on Joe, and there was quite a welcoming committee at the top of the mountain on the last lap!

Below you will find some pictures from the race. Also, please see the personal "Thank you" from Tom and Jen O'Connor at the bottom of the page...

1.) Grinding up the ski slope climb for the last time:

2.) The welcoming committee waiting (sort of) patiently:

3.) At the finish line, Tom and Joe, brothers-in-arms:

4.) Joe about to plant a smooch on his daughter, Baby Elise:

5.) Tom's son Ryan looks ready to do the next 24-hours:

6.) Left to right, Delaney, Tom and Ryan:

From the O'Connor's:

"We would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who has supported our family during these extremely difficult times. Over the past several months, we have been surrounded by so many kind and generous people. Not only by our family, friends and neighbors, but also, by those we have never met. We have been so touched by the outpouring of emails and cards expressing their prayers and support and also by those who generously donated by way of PayPal.

Furthermore, we would also like to take this opportunity to thank our angel, Joe, who not only exceeded his own expectations with his performance in the twenty-four hour race, but exceeded our expectations as a true friend. He has gone the extra mile in all he has done to support our family and has been there for us every step of the way since this nightmare began. We are truly blessed to have Joe, his wife, Andrea, and their daughter Elise, in our lives.

Sometimes you go through life wondering why you’re faced with a tragedy. Although we haven’t found the answer, we are extremely grateful for those who have touched our lives in so many ways.

Again, thank you for all you have done for our family and please keep us in your prayers. In the meantime, we’ll continue to pray and patiently await our miracle!

May God Bless You

Sincerely,
Tom and Jennifer O’Connor"