Personal Stories: Riding for MS

Why I Am Riding My First Century For MS

It started for my relative Jessie in December of 2000, right before the Christmas holiday, she noticed a ‘tingling’ sensation in her left arm. More of an annoyance than anything else, but by New Years she no longer could control her left hand and went to the Emergency Room.

The ER physicians sent her to her family doctor, who referred her to a specialist who conducted a number of tests including an MRI on her spine.

That was how she discovered that she had multiple sclerosis (MS).

In 2003 she had another episode, much like the first.

Today Jessie is able to live a full life, with her MS completely controlled, thanks to self-administered injections of Copaxone. She started out with daily shots, which made this the preferred drug since some of the others had side effects that mimicked the flu or a bad cold. Today she takes a higher dosage, three times a week, which she finds restricts her planning and activities far less than worrying about daily dosing and keeping the syringes refrigerated.

Jessie takes the importance of continuing research from ‘theory’ to ‘reality’ for me. We all know that prevention has the lowest cost, managing a disease is next, and the highest cost is for treatment. That’s both financially and personally. And so I am riding my first century to raise money for MS Research, helping Jessie and millions like her.

To learn more and to support John, visit his MS page