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Yale New Haven Health specialist riding Closer to Free for beloved coworker and friend
Morgan Hushion and Jacqueline, or Jac, have been together at Yale New Haven Health’s Bridgeport Hospital for eight years. The pair work together as the two full-time speech pathologists on staff. There are three others that are part-time.
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YNHH specialist riding Closer to Free for beloved coworker and friend
“I think of her very much as a mentor,” Morgan Hushion said of her coworker Jacqueline. “She really helped me over the years develop my practice in critical thinking. She is very much like my right hand at work.” Hushion and Jacqueline, or Jac, have been together at Yale New Haven Health’s Bridgeport Hospital for eight years. The pair...
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Why this cyclist's first Closer to Free ride will hit so close to home
Deborah Finco has cycled all over the country — and even outside of the country — but her battle with esophageal cancer, she says, will make her first Closer to Free ride right here in Connecticut so emotional.
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Cancer survivor remains positive, plans to give back through Closer to Free Ride
Deborah Finco has cycled in several countries and several states, but it will be the first time she rides Closer to Free here at home on September 7. “There’s a lot of other charitable rides out there, but this one just hits close to the heart, because I had my surgery here, and my surgeon and team, you know, are…
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CT LIVE!: Closer to Free Ride 2024
Longtime Closer to Free rider and cancer survivor Jaime Krasnitski shared her story.
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Stratford couple side-by-side through life, cancer treatment
They met in high school and just two weeks later they went to prom. “We went on a blind date and that was it,” said Rebecca Klein. “Twenty seven years later, here we are.” Klein and her husband, Bobby, have been side-by-side for more than 20 years. And now, that’s how they’re getting through Bobby’s cancer treatment. They were...
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‘Closer to Free' rider who lost dad to cancer inspired to become oncology nurse
When Emma Pfau walks into Yale New Haven Health’s Smilow Cancer Hospital, she says she feels both sadness and hope. That’s because Pfau’s father, Scott Walls, received cancer treatment there. He passed away in 2002. Walls worked as a physician’s assistant at what is now Yale New Haven Hospital’s Saint Raphael Campus. “He had an aggressive form of non-Hodgkin’s...
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Branford woman prepares for the Closer to Free Ride with family close to her heart
Katharine Mix will participate in her 10th Closer to Free Ride in September, but this year’s ride will be particularly close to her heart after her big cousin’s death earlier this year.
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Branford woman prepares for the Closer to Free Ride with family close to her heart
“He would eat it every meal of the day if he could.” Lobsters were the favorite food of Katharine Mix’s big cousin Andy. The two were only children who grew up like brother and sister. “I spent my whole life trying to keep up with him, be it skiing, running around. He was just a larger-than-life person and personality,”...
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Cheshire preschool holds Trike-A-Thon to support Closer to Free Ride
“It was pretty meaningful,” Vinny Celella said. “I would say it was top-notch,” Ralphie Celella added. That’s how Vinny and Ralphie Celella described Thursday’s Trike-A-Thon event, held outside Cheshire’s First Church Preschool. “The children were so excited,” First Church Preschool Director Brenda Ward-Kelley said. “I never thought they could ride around the church this many times.” On Thursday morning,...
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Closer To Free Ride's “Trike-A-thon” in Cheshire
A preschool in Cheshire played host for this unique and fun effort to raise money for Smilow Cancer Hospital.
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Thousands participate in 13th annual Closer to Free Ride
Thousands of people came out on Saturday to participate in the 13th annual Closer to Free Ride.
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Thousands turn out for Closer to Free Ride in New Haven
More than 2,000 riders have turned out Saturday morning to participate in the 2023 Closer to Free Ride at the Yale Bowl in New Haven.
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Thousands turn out for Closer to Free Ride in New Haven
More than 2,000 riders have turned out Saturday morning to participate in the 2023 Closer to Free Ride at the Yale Bowl in New Haven. -
Thousands participate in 13th annual Closer to Free Ride in New Haven
The 2023 Closer to Free Ride is in the books. The day was filled with lots of excitement and emotion for the annual fundraiser that benefits Smilow Cancer Hospital and the Yale Cancer Center. There was a lot of excitement on Saturday for the 13th annual Closer to Free Ride. “I take a little while to process things, I think…
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Cheshire woman shares why her husband was ‘the best' ahead of the Closer to Free Ride
Caitlin and Andy Celella were 15 when they met at Cheshire High School. They made it through college, studying abroad and into a young family. And after 15 years, there was a challenge they didn’t see coming.
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Cheshire woman shares why her husband was ‘the best' ahead of the Closer to Free Ride
“We were singing together in a vocal jazz group and we instantly clicked, and never had anyone else.” Caitlin and Andy Celella were 15 when they met at Cheshire High School. They made it through college, studying abroad and into a young family. “Ralphie and Vinny came a few years later because we got married when we were 24,” Caitlin…
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How the Closer to Free ‘Smilow Salute' moves riders and the corporate sponsor
No matter how many Closer to Free Rides they’ve done, the one moment that touches nearly every rider is the “Smilow Salute” at Smilow Cancer Hospital.