2008

     I met what would become the love of my life during the summer of '81. It was at a skydiving drop- zone of all places. I had wanted to experience the feeling of falling. As an avid skier and pilot, I guess you could say I have always been drawn to activities that involve working with the forces of nature, particularly gravity. It was there that I met Sara for the first time and was drawn to this woman who shared my sense of fearless adventure. We became close friends almost immediately. She was 8 years older than me, but that never seemed to get in the way. Although we were both in other relationships, we shared something special and thus developed a close friendship unlike I had ever experienced with a woman before. As a result, we became "best friends". Ten years had passed before we found ourselves across the table from one another at a skydiver's christmas party and realized that we were both single and not in other relationships anymore. I know what I was thinking, and I think she was thinking the same thing. We finally went out on our first official date, and the rest is history. I married her on July 10, 1993 and finally my life became fulfilled.

     Life sometimes is a funny thing, it can be the greatest adventure and yet out of the clear blue when you least expect it, a curve ball can come along and knock you right off your feet. I know that is how I felt the day Sara got the diagnosis that she had Multiple Sclerosis (MS). It was like an atom bomb got dropped on both of us. We had no idea that this day would define us and our entire future together, but it did. Some might pick up their things and start running, but I had nowhere else I wanted to be and nowhere I wanted to go. Most people make a prepared statement when they get married "for better or worse". Few however ever think about the "worse". It is the measure of a man to accept what life throws at you and rise to the challenges that lie ahead. There are two ways to look at something like this; get busy living or get busy dieing. I choose living.

     When I think about all the bad things that MS has thrown our way, I turn it around and realize that what it really has done is make our relationship as solid as a rock. Now, we just don't want each other, we need each other. I know that many times Sara feels that this has robbed me of my life, because it has put limits to what we can and can not do. I suppose I would feel the same way had the situation been reversed. Again, I choose living, and the fact is, life is unpredictable at best. We take the good with the bad and keep on truckin'. There is a song that has a chorus that I think sums up our situation quite well:

"There are times in life when you gotta crawl
Lose your grip, trip and fall
When you can't lean on no-one else
That's when you find yourself
I've been around and I've noticed that
Walking's easy when the road is flat
Them danged ole hills will get you every time
The good Lord gave us mountains
So we could learn how to climb"

MS IS OUR "MOUNTAIN"

     I read a story recently that told about an elderly man whose wife was in a nursing home suffering with Alzheimer's disease. He went and had breakfast with her every morning at 9:00 sharp. She no longer knew who he was and he admitted that she had not recognized him for the last five years. When asked why he still went every morning to have breakfast with her even though she did not know who he was, he simply said; "she doesn't know who I am, but I still know who she is". That is the kind of love I want in my life. True love is neither physical, nor romantic. True love is an acceptance of all that is, has been, will be, and will not be. The happiest people don't necessarily have the best of everything; they just make the best of everything they have.

Life isn't about how to survive the storm, but how you "Dance In the Rain"!

     Although the future is uncertain for us, we will keep dancing in the rain as long as we can. I still think our glass is only half full with many years of good and bad days that will continue to test each of us as we grow old together. What drives us each day is our love for one another and the dream that a cure for MS is just around the corner.

     We built this web-site, to raise awareness. We ride, to raise money. We strive, to make a difference. We will accept nothing less than a cure for this disease in our lifetime. It is our mission to help solve the puzzle of MS.

     I personally want to thank all of our family and friends for their endless support and love. We are so lucky to have such wonderful people in our lives. We are truly blessed. You know, life really is like a box of chocolates; you never know what your going to get. And that my friends is what gets us up each morning! Someday the headline will read;

"RESEARCHERS SOLVE THE PUZZLE OF MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS (MS)"

Mike