James Emond, the owner and dedicated heart of The Missing Link bike shop in the Woodstock Neighborhood is going through a major medical situation and folks are rallying support around him and his shop.
“Changes in the vertebrae in my neck have caused a narrowing of my spinal canal to the point where my spinal chord has been abraded,” Emond wrote last week on the shop’s Facebook page. “The overall feeling of this is a lot like what I imagine having a stroke would feel like-difficulty doing anything with my hands, trouble walking, balance issues, dropping things, difficult getting myself up from a seated position. I’m determined to get over this but I need help getting through the next couple months to keep myself and the shop afloat.”
According to a GoFundMe page set up by River Croney, a member of the shop’s riding club, “The good news is his brain is unaffected.”
“James isn’t just a shop owner; he’s a mentor, a friend, and an irreplaceable part of our cycling lives,” Croney wrote. Croney is a member of “Rolling Thunder,” the shop’s cycling club that competes at races throughout Oregon.
So far about $7,000 of a goal of $12,000 has been raised by customers, friends, and supporters of Emond and his shop.
The Missing Link was initially located on NE Sandy Blvd before it closed in 2012. Emond bought the shop from its original owner and moved it to SE Woodstock and 47th.
Emond is expected to make a recovery and could be back in the shop by June if everything goes OK. The shop is closed temporarily and Emond says his surgery is set for March 1st and “can’t come soon enough.”
Please consider a donation to keep the shop afloat and I’ll update this post when I learn more.