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| Features |
| Racing for a Cause: Ricky Springer |
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 | Ricky Springer
(Photo: kidsareheroes.org) |
Georgia dirt oval karter Ricky Springer is not your typical kid. The eight-year old looks and races just like any other youngster who is seen at tracks across the country every weekend. The difference for Springer is what is going on inside his body. Ricky lives with an Eosinophilic Gastrointestinal Disorder (EGID), a distinct disease that renders his body unable to digest most food proteins.
Ricky’s story begins at just four days old when he was showing signs of gastrointestinal issues. Over the next 21 months, the Springer family saw 14 pediatricians, two gastroenterologists and two allergists. Despite the fact that a number of tests had been completed, none of them could pinpoint the exact cause of Ricky’s disturbance and pain. Over the course of that time, Ricky was in and out of the hospital for dehydration as he was unable to keep any food or liquid down. A number of doctors thought he was just acting out.
Frustrated that their child was not acting normal, Ricky’s parents Julie and Rusty began to search on the Internet for anything that could lead them in the right direction in finding out what was wrong with their son. What they found was a website for parents with children allergic to food. After posting their story on the website, they received a number of responses to find out more information from APFED (American Partnership for Eosinophilic Disorders).
From there, they were directed to see Pediatric GI Dr. Philip Putnam at the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, where they would diagnose Ricky with Eosinophilic Colitis (EC), as his body was reacting with the food he was receiving. With the knowledge of Ricky’s rare disorder, he was given specialized elemental formula called Pediatric EO28, which he could drink or receive via a feeding tube in his stomach. The EGID disorders are characterized by having above normal amounts of eosinophils, a type of white blood cell, in one or more specific places anywhere in the digestive system. Within days, the Springer’s could see a notable change in Ricky’s behavior.
 | Ricky competes at Laurens County Speedway and the WKA Georgia Divisional Dirt Series
(Photo: springerracing.com) |
“It was a complete turn-around from the way he was acting before we received the special formula,” commented Julie Springer during a phone interview with EKN. “Doctors kept telling us that they didn’t know what was wrong with him and some even thought that we were abusing him. It was a total nightmare. It was so great to see him act like a normal child once on the special formula.”
Ricky remained on the formula for a year and a half and then began with food trails to see what his body could handle. Today, Ricky has a large variety of foods that he is able to eat along with the specialized formula, which he drinks. The type of foods he stays away from is anything with corn and dairy, along with spring and well water. Ricky’s diet is full of organic foods for his three meals a day. Most everything he eats is made from home. For breakfast, he could have organic rice bread to whole wheat cereal. For lunch and dinner, Ricky has a choice of hamburger and fries or turkey, chicken and pure beef with some apple sauce. His favorite meal is steak with Outback Steakhouse, one of the only restaurants that works with Ricky’s diet.
Right now, there are no accurate statistics of the disorders but it is estimated that one in 1200 have some sort of disorder, mostly in males and children. Recently, the Springers found that Ricky’s 13-year old brother Rusty Springer Jr. has been living with Eosinophilic Esophagitis (EE), leading the family to believe that EGID could be hereditary.
 | Ricky was recently at the Electronics & Entertainment Expo (E3) in Los Angeles, California to help spread the word about APFED and Kids Are Heroes, part of his Racing for a Cause program
(Photo: springerracing.com) |
Ricky was introduced to racing at the age of four when he became fanatic with watching it on the television. At age five, Ricky got into a kart for the first time with family in Hamlin, Pennsylvania aboard a Kid Kart. After spinning out, he was scared to continue, but later asked to go back out. In May 2008, Ricky’s family got him his first kart. He has been racing in the Raptor Purple division at Laurens County Speedway (clinching the Summer points championship just last weekend) and the WKA Georgia Divisional Dirt Series - where he leads the standings after four races.
Like any eight-year old, Ricky has dreams of racing professionally some day. Aside from being home schooled, everything else in his life has to do with racing. Whether it’s playing video games or just watching it on TV, Ricky loves and is obsessed with racing. When speaking with EKN, Ricky said his favorite type of racing is NASCAR and his favorite driver is Ryan Newman. The Springers would like to progress Ricky up the karting ranks and one day move to racing Bandoleros.
“I am doing the ‘Racing for a Cause’ program so that no one has to suffer and live in pain like I did,” commented Ricky. “I love racing and everything about it. I hope one day I can be racing in NASCAR.”
With the help of his racing, Ricky and his family are looking to spread the word about EGID. In 2009, he initiated the ‘Racing for a Cause’ campaign in partnership with APFED to help bring awareness and raise funds to assist in the education of physicians and the general public of the disorders. Ricky is also part of the ‘Kids Are Heroes’ program which helps promote children making a difference in the world. Julie is a member of the APFED and is educating parents across the country about the disorders.
Just last week, Ricky was invited to the Electronics & Entertainment Expo (E3) in Los Angeles, California. He was there as a guest of CTA Digital to demo a new product - an inflatable race kart - used with Wii racing games. Through that opportunity, he was able to educate thousands of attendees about Kids Are Heroes and APFED with his ‘Racing for a Cause’ campaign. This week, Ricky will be heading to Maryland and Pennsylvania to continue his awareness program. After doing a TV interview for WHAG TV in Hagerstown, MD with the Kids Are Heroes program, he will be in Gettysburg, PA over the weekend with a number of other appearances.
For more information, visit the following links:
Ricky Springer - http://www.springerracing.com
APFED - http://www.apfed.org
Kids Are Heroes - http://www.kidsareheroes.com |
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