It was hot under the lights at Lucas Oil Stadium as Richard Propes, 58, traveled in a wheelchair across the turf.
There were no roaring cheers from 60,000 fans as he lapped the field, wearing a T-shirt that said, “Love Everyone.” But cheerleaders with sparkly pompoms and Blue, the Colts’ mascot, walked alongside him.
It was the first lap of 150 miles around Indiana, an ambitious beginning to Propes’ eight-day journey to raise money to eliminate medical debt.
Someone handed him a Super Bowl XLI ring from 2006. He put it on his finger and joked he would take it with him, from Carmel to Kokomo, Peru to Rochester, up to Elkhart and back.
“We’re creating our own Super Bowl,” Propes said.
The local activist and film critic has been raising money since 1989 in an event dubbed “The Tenderness Tour.” He picks a new charity for each ride. Past recipients include Prevent Child Abuse Indiana, the Indiana Coalition Against Domestic Violence and local youth centers — but this year belongs to Undue Medical Debt.
The national nonprofit buys medical debt in bulk and recently eliminated nearly $240 million for Hoosiers through an anonymous donor. For every dollar donated on behalf of Propes’ ride, about $100 of debt is forgiven.
The issue is personal for Propes. He was born with Spina bifida, a condition that affects the development of a person’s spine. Doctors didn’t expect him to live for long.
His legs were amputated decades later due to infection. Then, as an adult, he survived prostate and bladder cancer.
“I had thousands of dollars in debt from over 50 surgeries,” Propes said.
As his parents struggled for years to cover the costs, which eventually transferred to him, Propes became homeless and lived out of his car behind a gas station. He struggled with depression in his early 20s and survived a suicide attempt.
“It left me feeling like there must be a reason I’m here,” Propes said. “I left Indianapolis with 20 bucks in my pocket, a backpack over my wheelchair and press releases written on a typewriter.”
On that first tour, he encountered strangers in towns and cities who reaffirmed his belief in humanity and his will to live.
Three decades later, Propes aims to raise the most money the tour has ever seen: $1 million or more, with the goal of eliminating $150 million in local medical debt. As of Sept. 13, he had already raised $16,000.
Propes will return to Indianapolis on Sept. 21 to take his last lap around Monument Circle. He is looking forward to meeting folks across the state who live on the tour route.
“There are an awful lot of good people in the world and we just need to build the village,” he said. “We are supposed to bear one another’s burdens.”
Community members can donate to The Tenderness Tour here.
Mirror Indy reporter Mary Claire Molloy covers health. Reach her at 317-721-7648 or email maryclaire.molloy@mirrorindy.org. Follow her on X @mcmolloy7.
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