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You are here: Home / Open Threads / Excellent Links / Help My Sister Out, If You Can

Help My Sister Out, If You Can

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My sister is once again riding in the MS150, which raises money for MS:

Why We Fight MS

Having multiple sclerosis means that you may suddenly have blurry vision. Or that your memory will fail you for no apparent reason. Or that you may not always be able to walk, let alone ride a bike. The symptoms of MS are different, and devastating, for everyone – the only certainty is that it will affect yet another person every hour of every day.

Why I Ride

I’ve registered for the Bike MS: Escape to the Lake (Erie) event because I want to do something for the people who have been diagnosed – and because I want to do everything to prevent more people from learning what it means to live with this disease. Today, there is no cure for multiple sclerosis, and with diagnosis occurring most frequently between the ages of 20 and 50, many individuals face a lifetime filled with unpredictability.

Why You Should Sponsor Me

The National Multiple Sclerosis Society will use funds collected from the Bike MS: Escape to the Lake (Erie) event to not only support research for a cure tomorrow, but also to provide programs which address the needs of people living with MS today. Because we can fight this disease by simply riding a bike, because we have chosen to help thousands of people through a contribution to the MS Bike Tour, we are now getting closer to the hour when no one will have to hear the words, “You have MS.”

If you have any spare scratch and would like to help her raise money for a great cause, here is the link to donate. That’s her riding last year in the picture above, and the picture below is the x-ray of her hand with a pin in it. She was sewing, trying to repair a leather pocket book, and somehow stabbed herself and the pin broke off and was lodged in the base of her thumb for several days before she had surgery.

Why am I telling you this?

Because she rode the MS150 with that pin in her hand last year, despite the excruciating pain. And she was caught smiling while doing it. She’s crazy.

Reader Interactions

48Comments

  2. 2.

    geg6

    I have a lawyer friend (she and I went to our first Obama rally together in the runup to the 2008 PA primary) who rides in that every year. I’d help your sister if I hadn’t already helped my friend. Her name is Amy, so if your sister runs into a lawyer named Amy from Pittsburgh with dark hair, tell her she should come and join the Juicers. She’d like it here.

  4. 4.

    Betty Cracker

    Jesus, she’s tough! My sister also does the MS150 each year (a different region). It’s a great cause.

  8. 8.

    Violet

    That’s awesome. I support folks down where I live who ride the MS150, so I’ll have to pass on your sister, but I’ve done the ride myself (the one near me) and it’s a great thing to do. Your sister is crazy to ride with that pin in her hand, but I guess it runs in the family, shoulder boy.

  11. 11.

    cathyx

    John, I can’t tell from what you wrote, does your sister have MS? My sister also has MS.

  13. 13.

    Calming Influence

    Look, if you want even more incentive, when you donate your name goes up on the scrolling “Fundraising Honor Role” thingy, and you’ll be famous! So ante up, damnit!

  14. 14.

    cathyx

    My sister is lucky. She has a form of MS that is the least debilitating form. She gets numbness on different parts of her body that last a couple months and then goes away. Stress of course will cause a flare up.

  16. 16.

    Calming Influence

    And yes, it’s true: my parents actually named me Calming. Calming H. Influence III.

  17. 17.

    scav

    @PIGL:

    how did the apples fall at such very different distances from the tree?

    The ability of n siblings to be simultaneously diametrically opposite of all of each other is one of the charming mysteries of mathematics.

  19. 19.

    WaterGirl

    Holy crap! In the time it took me to go get my credit card and type everything in, donations went from 175.00 to 325.00. That’s awesome!

    Calming Influence, you are indeed famous! I saw your name on the rotating list and thought “I know him!”. Though you may be a her, I have no way of knowing.

  22. 22.

    Persia

    Love it. I had a friend in college with MS and a teenage son. Her husband left her when she was diagnosed, so she went back to school so she could actually pay bills.

  23. 23.

    Calming Influence

    @WaterGirl: I am indeed a him. I thought that would be completely obvious from my manly way with words, but I understand some people need a visual. Picture Marshall Matt Dillon of Dodge City.

  25. 25.

    WaterGirl

    @Calming Influence: Thanks. It’s kind of being Cher or Rachel, you only need one name and everyone knows who you are.

    I’ve always wondered what the H. in Jesus H. Christ stood for. Perhaps you can tell us?

  26. 26.

    PurpleGirl

    I’m in. My best friend’s brother died (in his 40s) in 2011 of complications of MS. Their mother is in her 90s and has lived with MS for more than half her life.

  31. 31.

    Calming Influence

    @gnomedad: Thanks for the link! I’ve only ever heard “Harold” for the reason stated, the others seem weak. (By the way: weird coincidence or divine sign? You be the judge: the date on the piece is my birthday.)

  33. 33.

    Comrade Mary

    The “H” is for “Hallmark”, because God cared enough to send the very best.

  34. 34.

    Kilkee

    John, I supported her last year and kicked in $100, but she has failed to cure MS so I’m afraid I will have to support the GOP this year.

  36. 36.

    a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q)

    John, please thank your sister for riding for this cause. Thanks to all the Juicers for kicking in. As a recently diagnosed MS patient, I’ve become a bit of an activist. I’m really lucky in that I got symptomatic after 50, and while I do have some explicitly brain issues – worse with stress, to be sure – my primary symptom is tremendous fatigue and occasional limb numbness. But it’s a much better deal than many get, so I’m grateful and committed to doing my part for getting better treatment options for everyone. So thanks to all of you.

  41. 41.

    imbrium

    I kicked in what I could for now.

    Diagnosed MS in 2007, middle of grad school (studying neurobiology no less) three months before my shoestring wedding.

    Uncertainty is the word. I decided to keep on the academic track despite the horrendous insurance policies. Who knows what will happen?

    Many thanks to her for doing this.

  42. 42.

    imbrium

    I kicked in what I could for now.

    Diagnosed MS in 2007, middle of grad school (studying neurobiology no less) three months before my shoestring wedding.

    Uncertainty is the word. I decided to keep on the academic track despite the horrendous insurance policies. Who knows what will happen?

    Many thanks to her for doing this.

  48. 48.

    Devon cole

    I am totally blown away by everyone’s generosity. None of my friend’s were stepping up to donate, and I was worried about what I would be able to raise. You are all fantastic and awesome and I can’t thank you enough for helping me not only reach, but pass my fundraising goal. Stellar. And phoebes- that one made me speechless. A million thank you’s!

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