Real friendship: Danny skates 400 kilometers for sick ‘pacemaker’ Marco

Three years ago, Marco experiences the most exciting day of his life. During a cycle tour he has to stop constantly. It does not work. “My energy was gone, I just couldn’t move forward. Fortunately, I was able to do socycling home, but a few hours later I was in the hospital.”

After several hospital visits reveal the cause: he has PLN, a hereditary and untreatable heart muscle disease. The diagnosis turns the sportsman’s world upside down and limits him enormously. “In the beginning I didn’t know it would have such an impact. Now I sit at home and mess around in the garden, read the newspaper or make a sudoka. I no longer have an exciting life.”

Hereditary disease

Because it is a hereditary disease, families are often affected. Yet he is the only one in his family who suffers from this disease. “It is probably a genetic error in my DNA. My three brothers, sister and two daughters are now checked every year by the cardiologist.”

Cycling and skating – together with his friend Danny – are no longer options for Marco. Ever since primary school in Andijk, the two have been inextricably linked through skating and cycling. Sport is a common thread through their lives. Make miles, come rain or shine. They become addicted to the pedals and ice from an early age.

Where Marco can no longer, Danny continues. For Marco. On the Austrian Weissensee he skates a total of 400 friendship kilometers, spread over two days. With the now almost 3,000 euros that have been collectedhe hopes to contribute to increasing the chance of a cure.

Although he looks back soberly on his journey, the situation grips him. “When you are skating, you sometimes think back to that time when we skated together. It is something to swallow: we have built wonderful memories together,” he says with a lump in his throat.

Pacemaker

There is a moment of silence, then he continues. “Marco had also made it easily. He was always ahead, was a real pacesetter.”

They call each other a few hours after the finish. “I followed both his tours closely. I would have loved to have been there so that I could wait for him at the finish. But physically that just isn’t possible anymore,” says Marco. “I can only say that I am very proud. It is a special action from my friend.”