This is my 4 year of posting off and on. M.S. started for me in a good way by riding on my first M.S. Bike Ride in 1990 from Phoenix to Parker Dam California. It was a great ride for MS and to honor my Great Aunt who had MS. I rode a year later but had trouble with the Parker Dam hill. The Las Vegas riders met us at Parker Dam so it ends up a being very big party.
In February 1993 I was designing the lower F-18EF at Northrop. I got to work Monday Morning February 1 and sat down at my Unigraphics workstation and noticed my toes tingling. Similar to when you sit with your legs crossed on the floor for too long and then get up and the blood flowing back into your feet tingles. My feet tingled all day and it was difficult to concentrate on work. The next day the tingling was replaced with numbness in my toes but my feet tingled. Very weird. On Wednesday my ankles tingled and my feet were numb and toes number. On Friday it was raining when we got out of the car so we ran to the gate. I could not feel the ground I was stepping on and I could only feel me running by the jarring of my head. I was now officially concerned.
I went to my Fiancés doctor and he ran a bunch of test but could not find anything wrong with me.
By May the numbness was mostly gone but the bottoms of my feet felt like there were rocks in my shoes behind my toes. The more I walked the larger the rocks grew. I hated going on walks, something my Fiancé and I really enjoyed doing. In July I was married and still working in California but my feet had not improved. I had an MRI on my spine and was diagnosed with a pinched nerve in my back. Quack!
For the next 8 years I stayed away from shopping centers because parking was always a problem and so was all the walking I would have to do in the stores. In September of 2000 my eye was sore and I went to a optometrist. He suggested test at a neurologist office. The test came back positive for Multiple Sclerosis. I was happy to finally know what was going on. I was the put on Betaseron and I started on 1-3-01. My family has since accepted the fact that I don’t like to go anywhere after work.
While working in Oklahoma I decided to go on another MS Ride. I made it 27 miles before my foot slipped off the peddle and I broke my big toe. That ended the day however I rode 50 more miles the next day. The following year I made 89 miles. I use to work in Altus on C-17 product support. After I had fallen at home picking up socks I dropped I found myself at work standing 23 feet off the ground on the wing leading edge. I crawled out to the edge while everyone stood on the edge and wondered why I was crawling. I loved that job but I changed jobs and went to Indiana to work on helicopters. I rode in Indiana there but was left on the road after my legs gave out so I didn't ride in Indiana again. I rode again in Oklahoma three more times and made 89 miles 102 miles and 96 miles, yea. Now I am planning my last ride in Georgia. Yes I am working at Robins AFB so now Georgia is my home.
***Post broken into paragraphs for readability. Some of our members have vision problems with large blocks of type.***
In February 1993 I was designing the lower F-18EF at Northrop. I got to work Monday Morning February 1 and sat down at my Unigraphics workstation and noticed my toes tingling. Similar to when you sit with your legs crossed on the floor for too long and then get up and the blood flowing back into your feet tingles. My feet tingled all day and it was difficult to concentrate on work. The next day the tingling was replaced with numbness in my toes but my feet tingled. Very weird. On Wednesday my ankles tingled and my feet were numb and toes number. On Friday it was raining when we got out of the car so we ran to the gate. I could not feel the ground I was stepping on and I could only feel me running by the jarring of my head. I was now officially concerned.
I went to my Fiancés doctor and he ran a bunch of test but could not find anything wrong with me.
By May the numbness was mostly gone but the bottoms of my feet felt like there were rocks in my shoes behind my toes. The more I walked the larger the rocks grew. I hated going on walks, something my Fiancé and I really enjoyed doing. In July I was married and still working in California but my feet had not improved. I had an MRI on my spine and was diagnosed with a pinched nerve in my back. Quack!
For the next 8 years I stayed away from shopping centers because parking was always a problem and so was all the walking I would have to do in the stores. In September of 2000 my eye was sore and I went to a optometrist. He suggested test at a neurologist office. The test came back positive for Multiple Sclerosis. I was happy to finally know what was going on. I was the put on Betaseron and I started on 1-3-01. My family has since accepted the fact that I don’t like to go anywhere after work.
While working in Oklahoma I decided to go on another MS Ride. I made it 27 miles before my foot slipped off the peddle and I broke my big toe. That ended the day however I rode 50 more miles the next day. The following year I made 89 miles. I use to work in Altus on C-17 product support. After I had fallen at home picking up socks I dropped I found myself at work standing 23 feet off the ground on the wing leading edge. I crawled out to the edge while everyone stood on the edge and wondered why I was crawling. I loved that job but I changed jobs and went to Indiana to work on helicopters. I rode in Indiana there but was left on the road after my legs gave out so I didn't ride in Indiana again. I rode again in Oklahoma three more times and made 89 miles 102 miles and 96 miles, yea. Now I am planning my last ride in Georgia. Yes I am working at Robins AFB so now Georgia is my home.
***Post broken into paragraphs for readability. Some of our members have vision problems with large blocks of type.***
I used to love bike riding also! I'm hoping to get a 3-wheel bike this year, as I can't ride a two-wheeler anymore due to balance issues.
Comment