Jeffrey’s Journey

About

When you’re faced with an incurable, debilitating, and progressive disease, you have a choice to make. How do you live your life? When Jeffrey McElfresh was a child, that wasn’t a consideration. He was in perpetual motion, a bundle of energy. Then something changed. It began in small, almost imperceptible ways. But it just kept coming. His feet and hands were gradually losing function. At age 41 he finally learned the name of his malady: Charcot–Marie–Tooth disease. This peripheral neuropathy is extraordinarily rare. It disrupts signals from the brain, causing muscles in the feet and hands to atrophy.

Today Jeffrey’s disability is apparent. But he’s adapted. He’s built a life rich with meaning. And he’s found that when he’s on a bicycle, he’s in his element. He’ll tell you he rides better than he walks. And he rides a lot. He has become an adventure cyclist.

In this documentary, we follow Jeffrey over the course of ten days as he cycles along the Ohio River, from Pittsburgh to Cincinnati. That question: ‘How do you live your life when face with a devastating disability?’ This documentary reveals one man’s answer. As he follows the river through old steel towns, beautiful valleys and forgotten burgs, Jeffrey discovers a lot about the land he’s riding through and even more about himself.