Good Samaritans rally to replace bicycle stolen from cancer patient in Petaluma

Sometimes a bike is more than just a bike.

Since the breast cancer she was diagnosed with a decade ago spread to her brain, liver and bones, Katie Bushnell has used her Bianchi road bicycle to get to some of her treatment appointments.

Other times, she gets a ride, or drives the car loaned to her by a friend. But that vehicle has been out of commission since late November. For trips around Petaluma, where she lives, the Bianchi is Bushnell’s primary transportation.

It was, at least, until Sunday night, Dec. 13, when she forgot to lock it to the rack outside her apartment complex. Of course it was gone the next morning.

Bushnell posted a notice on the app Nextdoor, which helps neighbors communicate with one another.

“Please help me find my stolen Bianchi,” she wrote. Due to her medical expenses, she explained, “I cannot replace the bike at this time, and would appreciate having it returned ASAP, no questions asked.”

That post generated a flood of concern and goodwill. Good Samaritans urged Bushnell to start a GoFundMe page. She resisted at first, preferring to wait and see if the Bianchi turned up. When it still hadn’t, two days later, they did post a GoFundMe, which by Christmas Eve had received over $1,800 in donations.

On Wednesday, Bushnell was at Mike’s Bikes in Petaluma, where she picked out a replacement — a smaller frame than the stolen Bianchi. Since having tumors removed from her spine, she’s lost several inches of height.

Bushnell expressed deep gratitude to everyone who gave money to replace her bike — in particular to Kecia Kaiser, who helped her set up the GoFundMe page. On it, they detailed Bushnell’s circumstances and her needs beyond a bicycle, including medical expenses and rides to and from cancer treatments that leave her unable to drive or ride a bike home afterwards. To allay inevitable doubters and skeptics, they included several photos: of the stolen bike, of a card from the Petaluma Police Department with a case number for the police report Bushnell filed, and of a note from her oncologist, on St. Joseph Health letterhead, stating she is “under my care for the treatment of metastatic (Stage IV) breast cancer,” which has spread to her bones and liver.

Kaiser, a Petaluma native, recalled reading of Bushnell’s plight, then thinking, “Man, her losing a bike means a lot more than me losing a bike or anyone I know of losing a bike. It really tugged at my heartstrings.”

Seeing the community step up to help Bushnell “officially restored my faith in humanity,” Kaiser said.

Bikes have been a big part of Bushnell’s life since she moved from San Francisco to Mill Valley nearly three decades ago. Weary of commuting to her job in the city, she vowed to only take a job “I could ride my bike to.” For the next 20 years, that’s what she did.

Following her breast cancer diagnosis, in 2011, she moved to Isla Mujeres, off the coast of Cancun, Mexico, bringing with her “my bike, my computer and my cat,” she recalled. “Nothing else matters in life, let me tell ya.”

She returned to the Bay Area in July 2018, after learning her cancer had spread and she had three months to live. Her most recent diagnosis, she said, revealed cancer in her skull, neck, shoulder blades, sternum, femurs and pelvis, in addition to the “seven spots on my liver.”

Asked how she is still out and about, riding even modest distances on her bike, Bushnell replied:

“I’m from Buffalo. They build ’em tough there.”

She shows up for appointments with her oncologist with a suitcase full of her medical records.

“I’m the CEO of my own health care,” she said. “It’s my job to be on top of this.”

She asks questions, and sometimes challenges her doctors, which is part of the reason she is on her fifth oncologist in two years.

“I’m the annoying patient that won’t always believe what (doctors) have to tell me. They don’t have a crystal ball,” she said.

Bushnell is also an advocate for other cancer patients — or, as it says on her business card, “Advo-Kate.” She’s learned a lot about various resources, and navigating the health care maze. Sharing her knowledge with others “is my way of giving back.”

She intends to launch a website, Katescommunity.org, and is at work on a book tentatively titled “Crazy … Not Crazy: Beating Breast Cancer.”

Those goals keep her going, she said.

“When you’re metastasized, it’s not just about existing, living through each day,” Bushnell said. “It’s about having a purpose.”

And, in her case, a bicycle.

You can reach Staff Writer Austin Murphy at 707-521-5214 or austin.murphy@pressdemocrat.com or on Twitter @ausmurph88.