Can you imagine being used to a life of easy mobility and then your immune system starts to attack your nerves in the brain and spinal cord and that eventually leads to loss of vision, balance, sensation and muscle control? That is a life of someone with multiple sclerosis.
According to the WebMD website, multiple sclerosis, or MS, is a disease that affects the brain and spinal cord, resulting in loss of muscle control, vision, balance and sensation. With MS, the nerves of the brain and spinal cord are damaged by one’s own immune system.
Reenie Sacchetti of Voorhees has a friend who is affected by MS. There are treatments and medications for MS to help with the symptoms or the progression, but, unfortunately, there is no cure for MS.
“It is a horrible, unpredictable, debilitating disease,” Sacchetti said.
That is why Sacchetti and five others created a bike team called Girls & Guys with Gears for the MS Society’s Bike MS: City to Shore Ride. This annual ride will take place on Sunday, Sept. 28. It begins in Cherry Hill at the Woodcrest train station and ends in Ocean City. All of the money raised goes toward MS research.
“This is a great event to participate in. It shows the people living with MS that they do not have to face the disease alone,” Sacchetti said. “For me the mission of this ride is to increase awareness for MS and everyone affected by this debilitating disease, as well as to advocate for the cause by raising money to support programs that improve the lives of those living with the disease.”
According to the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, the condition affects approximately 400,000 Americans and is, with the exception of trauma, the most frequent cause of neurological disability beginning in early to middle adulthood. MS is two to three times as common in females as in males.
Sacchetti’s friend, a full-time mother of three, a full-time worker and a graduate student, was diagnosed with MS approximately three years ago. Her treatments make her tired, but that isn’t stopping her from participating in the bike ride. It also isn’t stopping Sacchetti, but is inspiring her.
“She’s our inspiration. You would never know that she wasn’t feeling well because she wouldn’t let on; she never waivers. Just by looking at her you would never know,” Sacchetti said.
Sacchetti is a novice to cycling. She received a bike for her birthday, but never pedaled a bike further than two miles. But her friends helped to keep her motivated. She started training with her friends, which started off as a team of four women, around June. Since then Sacchetti has recently completed a 78 mile bike ride with her team, which also added her son and her friend’s son. So she has come a long way from two to 78 miles.
“I know this event will challenge me, push me and make me exhausted. My friend with MS lives with that every single day. It is the very least I can do for her. She is our team captain, our driving force, our motivation and our strength,” Sacchetti said.
The Girls & Guys with Gears has raised approximately $3,000 so far for MS, Sacchetti raising $500. Participants can choose to ride a short distance or the full route from Cherry Hill to Ocean City. Sacchetti and her team are going to try to complete the full 100 miles.
“It’s not the miles that matter. It is the journey,” said Sacchetti.
So far, the bike ride has raised almost $4 million. Participants can visit bikepae.nationalmssociety.org to form a team. Donations can also be made at the website.
