Featured Team: Team Madonia

Team Madonia participates in the Ride for Roswell each year to honor the memory of Jacob Madonia. Jake fought a courageous 10 year battle with synovial sarcoma and passed away in 2018 at age 30. Though Jake was diagnosed at a young age, he never let cancer hold him back from the things he wanted to accomplish in life. He received his Masters degree and BSN from UB, he was a decorated collegiate athlete and became a devoted husband and father. Jake was not only a patient at Roswell, he was also a dedicated oncology nurse. He used his experience to educate others about his disease and push himself and his fellow nurses to provide superior care to their patients. His unique perspective made him an exceptional nurse who could connect with patients in a way many other nurses could not. Jake was special to so many people he crossed paths with in his life. Team Madonia is made up of family, friends, co-workers, and many others who had the chance to connect with Jake over the years in the different facets of his life. What brings us together each year for the Ride for Roswell is our mutual love for the incredible person we knew, our mutual heartbreak that we lost him much too soon to cancer, and the hope that our efforts will lead to a cure, so no one else has to lose someone as special to them as Jake was to all of us.