Our History
The origins of Endurance for life begins with my father, Ken Andrus. An avid cyclist himself Ken instilled that love in me and, after participating in multiple events together, that love grew into a passion for all endurance sports.
Ken was diagnosed with Stage 3 throat cancer in 2017 and started chemotherapy and radiation treatment, he continued riding whenever he felt well enough to do so. The bike was his happy place, and when radiation took his sense of equilibrium, he started riding a 3 wheeled trike. And when his skin became too sensitive for the sun, he would apply silvadene cream and cover the area so that he could still go out. He was determined to keep his love for riding even through all this.
In 2019 the throat cancer metastasized to his esophagus and eventually it was found in his lungs as well. Being unable to undergo any more traditional rounds of treatment he started immunotherapy, which the cancer responded to.
Unfortunately, Ken continued to decline due to complications from treatment, a pervasive infection from bone necrosis in his jaw meant he eventually had to be reliant on a feeding tube. In January of 2022 Ken was placed into home hospice care and in November of the same year he lost the fight and passed from this world.
Throughout all this Ken maintained his own quirky sense of humor. He laughed, he joked, and up until the very last week of life he rode his trike.
Endurance for Life was founded on his ideals and to help others going through the same, we were incredibly fortunate to have insurance, supplemental insurance, and hospice assistance. Not to mention the ability for multiple family members to be either retired or have the ability to work remotely in order to care for him. However even with all of that it was a constant struggle to see to his needs and make him comfortable.