Archives > Breaking News
Print
E-mail
Comment
Rate
RSS
Share
Frisco residents pedal toward MS cure
By Ann Marie Shambaugh, Staff Writer
Frisco resident Derek Smith said he was scared when he learned as a teen-ager that his father had multiple sclerosis. Smith and his family knew little about the disease that afflicted an otherwise healthy and fit man.
Over the past 18 years he has watched the disease of the central nervous system take its toll on his father.
“Since [1990] we’ve learned quite a bit about it,” he said. “We spent a couple years trying to figure out what it meant, because it didn’t seem like he was that different, but over two decades now it’s to the point where he is wheelchair-bound and unable to work the same way he did before.”
Smith said he hopes to raise $2,000 for the tour, which has an ultimate fund-raising goal of $2.4 million. More than 3,200 cyclists are registered to ride in the 150-mile fund-raiser.
Lisa Hammett, also of Frisco, is riding in her fifth MS 150 bike tour this year. She knows several people who suffer from MS, including a friend from college, co-workers, and a friend who has been a big inspiration in her life.
“She zips around on her red scooter,” Hammett said. “She doesn’t let her disability affect her life in any way.”
The National Multiple Sclerosis society estimates that more than 400,000 people in the United States and 2.5 million people worldwide suffer from MS, and that someone is newly diagnosed with the disease every hour in the United States.
Hammett said she is surprised at how widespread the disease is.
“It’s amazing … learning more about how prevalent MS is,” she said. “There are so many different levels or degrees of MS. There could be people who you know who are walking around with MS who maybe don’t have any outward symptoms.”
Multiple Sclerosis does not have a cure, but studies show that early treatment may reduce symptoms and improve the quality of life for those suffering. It is caused by the interruption of the flow of information from the brain to the body and inhibits movement. It can cause numbness, blindness, and paralysis.
Hammett said that she is not able to go bicycling during the year as much as she would like, but she always plans to be ready for the MS 150 bike tour so she can support her friends and raise money for a cure.
She said that although it is not easy to ride for 150 miles, beginners should not hesitate to sign up because it is not a race. Volunteers are also available to help those who feel that they cannot make it to the next stop.
“It’s challenging, but you accomplish something that you never thought that you can do,” Hammett said. “It is a lot of work, and you’re really tired, but what keeps me going is if I can just make it from rest stop to rest stop and set small goals, pretty soon before you know it I’ve done the whole thing.”
Frisco resident Matt Taylor is riding in his first MS 150 bike tour this year, and admits that he is a little bit nervous but excited about bicycling 150 miles.
He is riding in honor of his mother-in-law, who was diagnosed with MS 15 years ago. He did not even own a bicycle when he decided to sign up, but went out and bought one the same week.
“She knows I’m riding for her … and that I support her,” Taylor said. “We don’t really talk about it too much with her. It’s kind of an unspoken thing and that’s why I’m riding for her.”
Taylor works at PepsiCo, and is riding with co-workers on the Frito Lay Cheesy Riders team. He set a goal to raise $500, but easily surpassed that and is now working toward $1,000.
For information on the MS 150 bike tour, visit http://dallas.ms150.org/dallas.
The following are comments from the readers.
In no way do they represent the view of Starlocalnews.com
In no way do they represent the view of Starlocalnews.com
Alston wrote on May 3, 2008 12:48 PM:
" As a long time Frisco resident and a person diagnosed with MS, I am so pleased to see Frisco residents participate in this bike tour for a cause that affects so many people in this country. MS does not just affect the physical body but can also affect the cognitive (recognition, reasoning, memory). The article is correct in saying there are medications that can slow down the progress, but how wonderful it would be to find a cure to the degenerative disease. "
You must register with a valid email to post comments.
Only your Member ID will be posted with the comments.
Only your Member ID will be posted with the comments.
Registered users sign in here:
Become a Registered User
- Return to: Breaking News «
- Home «
- Top of Page ^
