Lowell Petersen
Lowell Petersen, a 19-year veteran of the Omaha Police Department's bike patrol, is needless to say an avid bicyclist. Not only does he ride all day on patrol, he rides his bike to and from work – commuting between his home in Blair, Nebraska, and his station in Omaha. He estimates he's covered more than 8,000 miles.
You would never guess that Lowell is a cancer survivor. You see, he was diagnosed with with Leukemia AML in October of 1995. Admitted to Methodist Hospital the same day he was diagnosed, Lowell remained in the hospital for 23 days to receive chemo-therapy treatments to battle his aggressive cancer. During his treatment, Lowell received both red cell and platelet transfusions.
Ever committed to his job, Petersen returned to work just 20 days after his first chemo-therapy treatment. While at work, Petersen wore his bulletproof vest over two shunts inserted into his chest for his treatments and was careful to hide any discomfort he was feeling, in order to remain at work.
The next year, Petersen received a bone marrow transplant at the University of Nebraska Medical Center. As part of his treatment, Petersen underwent 27 procedures to harvest the stem cells needed for a transplant – an unofficial record. Most patients undergo only five or six procedures.
Just three months later, Lowell Petersen competed in a bike race that spanned 500 miles across the entire state of Nebraska.