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On June 22nd, Olmsted Falls resident Daniel Budyka will embark on the journey of a lifetime: an eighty-mile solo paddling journey across the Atlantic Ocean from the Bimini Islands in the Bahamas to Lake Worth, Florida, as part of a charity event called The Crossing for Cystic Fibrosis hosted by Piper’s Angels Foundation. In an age where people will do anything to build their personal brand, Budyka’s motivation is simple: to raise awareness.
Growing Up, Fast
A 2012 graduate of Fairview High School, Daniel has always been involved in sports, mainly soccer. “Growing up, my father was very involved in my athletics, taking vacation from work to put me in conditioning and skill camps for soccer every year.” Budyka also enjoys snowboarding, despite not being a fan of the cold.
Upon graduation, Daniel faced a struggle most high school graduates can relate to: “Entering the workforce right out of high school, I had no idea what I was going to do with my life. It was a lost feeling, so much that I turned to alcohol to try and find an answer”. A trip to the emergency room in 2020 for right flank pain turned out to be a life-changing event.
During an ultrasound, doctors found a suspicious mass on his kidney; he was being diagnosed with kidney cancer. Daniel was shocked; he had just learned he was expecting a son. In an instant, everything in his life changed.
Weighing nearly 300 pounds at the time of his diagnosis, every aspect of Daniel’s life needed an overhaul, “Learning of the cancer and my son saved my life. I had to wake up and change my habits”.
Daniel has dropped nearly 100 pounds in the past four years and found his true calling: advocacy.
Moving Forward
As a father, healthcare worker, and ongoing cancer survivor, raising awareness for various health causes has become a true passion for Budyka. 2020 was the first time that Daniel dipped his toes into charity events. After learning of his cancer diagnosis, Daniel participated in a sand volleyball tournament to raise money for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.
Throughout his journey, Budyka has found comfort and purpose in one of his favorite artists: Jimmy Buffett. “Buffett’s music helped me adopt a mantra of ‘ride life’s waves’ and just go with the flow. When it was 20 degrees and a blizzard outside, I was on the beach in my mind”.
His love of Jimmy Buffett is also what led him to learn about Piper’s Angels Foundation, an organization which Buffett was a board member of.
Piper’s Angels Foundation
In November of 2011, Travis Suit received a phone call with news that no parent wanted to hear; his four-year-old daughter Piper had been diagnosed with cystic fibrosis, a genetic disorder that causes mucus to build up in the lungs. When searching for ways to improve her life, Travis found that breathing in salt water could help clear the airwaves in Piper’s lungs. Not soon after this realization, Piper’s Angels Foundation and The Crossing came to be.
The Crossing for Cystic Fibrosis is an event like no other, an eighty-mile journey across the Gulf Stream from the Bimini, Bahamas, to Lake Fort Worth, Florida. Participants set out at midnight, paddling across the Atlantic Ocean to raise awareness and money for families struggling with cystic fibrosis. The funds raised from the event goes to help families needing urgent financial assistance, education on living with their diagnosis, counseling, and scholarships to “provide positive experiences in a natural healing salt environment.”
The cause is more than worthy, but the journey is daunting. The first time Suit set out on the trip in 2013, it took 15 ½ hours to traverse 90 miles. Despite the challenge, Daniel Budyka is more than ready for what lies ahead.
Training for the Journey of a Lifetime
This year’s event will have nearly 200 participants, but Budyka is one of just two who will be a prone solo participant. Being prone means that he will make the journey on his stomach with one body part in the water, “Between sharks and jellyfish blooms, I am unable to prepare for that here in Cleveland. ” With the Bahamas being known for their shark-infested waters, that adds another element into an already daunting task, “Knowing throughout the entire event they see you, you just don’t see them is quite a hurdle.”
Despite not having access to the ocean to prepare for the event, Budyka has made Lake Erie his training home. Though not as daunting as the ocean, the lake still has its risks: “The lake switches fast and is unforgiving. The fear of being pushed away from shore and lost in the lake was real.”
In and out of the water, his son Lincoln is his biggest fan and motivation. “He’ll shout ‘Daddy cross the ocean!’” says Budyka. The off-water training can be just as grueling as the lake, including an exercise that simulates paddling where he lays on a medicine ball with tennis balls in each hand until his arms give out.
“It is our responsibility as parents to teach our children of the future to be kind and caring and to overcome any barriers with strength and perseverance,” he says. As an active cancer survivor about to embark on the journey of a lifetime, Budyka is the face of strength and perseverance.
“Do it for those who can’t”
As the only participant in the entire state of Ohio, Budyka hopes his journey can inspire others to get involved.
Though time is limited to get involved in this year’s event, registration for the 2025 adventure opens on August 31st. Even if the paddleboard journey sounds too challenging, people can get involved in many ways, including as a support boat to assist the paddlers.
People can also support from the comfort of their own homes in Northeast Ohio. Donations for Team Budyka for this year can be made at give.classy.org/teambudyka. Daniel will post updates on his Team Budyka X4CF page on Facebook for those interested in following this epic journey, and live tracking will be available at midnight on crossingforcf.com. Budyka’s message for others is simple: “No amount of giving to others is too small. Whether you are a participant, volunteer, or donate to support the cause, you are making an impact”.
More information about The Crossing for Cystic Fibrosis can be found at https://www.crossingforcysticfibrosis.com/ .
To Follow Daniel’s journey on social media, you can follow him on Facebook
Donations for Daniel’s journey can be made at https://www.classy.org/fundraiser/4943238
