Team Stories

• Karen Minor's letter of thanks - 2006
• Karen Minor's letter of thanks
• Team member Christin Harding in the Baraboo News Republic

Karen Minor's letter of thanks, July 22, 2006

Hi Everyone,

Wow, I can't believe that the ride is just two weeks from today. Is everyone fired up and ready to go!!!! I wish that I was able to do the ride with you, but I'm just not a biker and the MS doesn't help me either. I can be your number one cheerleader though and will see you all at the finish line in Whitewater and in Madison. I think at last count Ken said we had 36 new riders and 79 total. As if I did not have enough trouble with everyone's names already. (age & MS thing) You are not going to want to miss stopping by the team tent in Whitewater this year after you pass the finish line, Christin Harding has been hard at work planning some surprises for you.

I want to especially thank Leigh for the great job she has done with the PR we are getting on NBC 15. The interviews and promos have been awesome in promoting awareness about MS, the bike tour and the team. Thank you also to Rick & Carol, Terry, and Christin for your TV interviews about what it is like to live with this disease. It is always easier for people to get involved or donate when they can put a face to this disease and it becomes more personal. Thank you for that personal touch.

I also want to thank all of you riders personally for riding and raising money to one day find a cure for this disease. We have made great strides over the years, but we are not there yet. I say this every day, but I have been really fortunate thus far with how my MS has stayed pretty stable. This summer was going to be the true test as we had a daughter graduating from High School in June and another daughter getting married in July. I managed to get through both events with out anything too major happening. I did have some problems the night of my daughter's graduation, but after a good nights sleep I woke up doing much better. MS is so unpredictable, and with the stress of both events, I just didn't know how things were going to go. I was also fortunate that I could walk my daughter down the isle on her wedding day and hope to do that in the future for my other two children. It is something that we all take for granted, but many people would love to have the opportunity to be able to do that. I attribute my stability to the medications that are currently available for relapsing - remitting MS, one of which I'm on. I have been doing injections now for 9 years, and at some point it would be nice to give my body a rest. I'm still waiting for that magic pill to be discovered!!!! Research is our key for finding better treatment options and eventually a cure. Your commitment to this ride makes all the difference in the world to people like me and the other 10,000 people in WI. that live with this disease on a daily basis.

Thanks again and have a great ride. See you at the finish line!!!!!

Karen Minor

Karen Minor's letter of thanks, July 29, 2005

I want to personally thank everyone for being a part of the Sonic Streamers Bike team and for raising money to help end the devastating effects of MS. Our family knows first hand what this very unpredictable disease is all about since I was diagnosed with MS in Oct. of 1997. Through research we now have available 5 drugs that can help slow down the progression of the disease and I have been very fortunate that these drugs are helping me. They do not always work for everyone, but at least we now have something that we can use. In fact, I'm now on my second drug after the first one started to lose its effectiveness and I started to have some pretty significant relapses again. It is just nice to know that we now have choices, before 1993 there was nothing out there for us to use. We have come a long way, but there is still much more that needs to be done. That is why events like these are so important to those of us living with this disease. We have over 10,000 people in the state of WI alone that have MS. MS is a disease that affects the brain and spinal cord and is very unpredictable. Symptoms can range from numbness to paralysis, coordination and balance problems, cognitive issues such as memory and thinking problems, vision problems and even blindness. The list goes on and no one person is the same.

All of the drugs we currently have are given by injection with the exception of one which is administered by IV and is a last resort drug for worsening symptoms. A cure is the ultimate goal, but if we can't get to that right away I would settle for the day when I can stop giving myself shots three times a week and could just take a pill. That hope could some day become a reality and would be wonderful news for the MS community!!! As with any drug they are not perfect and do have their share of side effects. I'm beginning to run out of sites due to scar tissue build up, so a pill form could come none to soon. I'm also tired of being bruised and feeling like a pin cushion, but I know for now that it is the best thing that I can do to take care of myself, so I continue on. Research is the key to finding a cure and to coming up with better treatment options, and they take time and lots of money. They currently have over 100 projects in the work, which is very encouraging thanks to all of the fundraising events. So thank you for all of your efforts in fundraising for this bike tour, it really does make a difference.

After doing an 18.6 mile ride over the 4th of July I really admire all of you for doing this ride. I don't know how you do it. One of these years I will have to train and try to do at least one day of it, but I'm not sure that I could even do that. My hats off to all of you I guess the best place for me is at the finish line to welcome you all in at Whitewater and in Madison. I do my best work with two feet planted firmly on the ground for now.

Good Luck to everyone next weekend and I will see you at the Finish Lines!!!!!

Karen Minor

Team member Christin Harding in the Baraboo News Republic, July 15, 2003

A Baraboo woman living with multiple sclerosis will once again challenge her limitations by biking 75 miles through Wisconsin. It has been 10 years in June since Harding learned she has MS, a chronic disease that afflicts the nervous system of relatively young people. In her case, the disease manifests as a weakness on the right side of her body, making it difficult for her to walk very far. She can't carry heavy objects any distance while balance problems prevent her from wearing high-heeled shoes and require that she keep a hold on the handrail when climbing stairs.

No cure has been developed for MS, Harding said. However, research has led to new treatments, which have made life easier for people with the disease.

Harding said she is riding and raising money with the feeling in her heart that better treatments and a cure will be found. "I do believe they will find a cure, or at least better treatments will be found," she said. "I'm very hopeful. I do feel they're very close."

MS researchers really need to hurry up and complete their search for the cure so she can benefit from it, Harding added with a joking impatience.

The first year she participated in the MS ride, the weather was extremely hot and she could not finish it. Last year was cooler and the ride went well, Harding said. "Pray that it's cool this year," she added.