Lisa Fitzgerald's 5-year-old son crawled onto her knees, a red-haired live wire of bouncing energy she calls "our little miracle baby." He traded her two rocks for some quarters, and pulled from behind his back a Gatorade bottle he had filled for her at a nearby tent.
Minutes earlier, Fitzgerald had crossed the finish line at the Bike MS: Rock'n Hot Ride in a recumbent bicycle, wiping her eyes at the conclusion of a two-day, nearly 125-mile bicycle ride.
"I didn't expect it to be that emotional," she said after crossing the finish line at Garver LLC in North Little Rock.
Fitzgerald, 46, was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 2001, making her one of more than 3,000 Arkansans and 2.3 million people worldwide known to have the disease, according to the National MS Society.
The disease causes the immune system to mistakenly attack nerves in the spinal cord and brain. Most people who suffer from multiple sclerosis have flare-ups, followed by periods with mild or no symptoms. Others have more severe symptoms that get continually worse. There are currently no treatments for this more severe version, but in June the Food and Drug Administration fast-tracked the review of the first one.
This year, more than 250 people registered for the race. Each pledged to raise a minimum of $300 for the society, with the average donation expected to be more than twice that. The event's organizers hope to raise more than $150,000 from this year's event. They will continue to raise funds for 60 days after the event. The event is one of 100 bike rides to support multiple sclerosis across the country, said Sarah Flowers, a development manager for the National MS Society in Oklahoma.
The funds will help support research into multiple sclerosis and services for people living with the disease, Flowers said. The National MS Society gives money to people with multiple sclerosis to help pay for utility bills, rent and medications, she said.
More information can be found at bikemsarkansas.org.
Leah Thorvilson, 37, of Little Rock said she didn't know anyone with multiple sclerosis when she first participated in the ride last year.
"Then people start to tell you, 'Oh, I have MS. My husband has MS," she said. "You don't see a person and say, that person has MS. ... People can have what seems like a really normal life."
One of the major problems with multiple sclerosis is false positives, said Leah Weatherl, 35, vice president for the South Central region of Bike MS. Accurately identifying multiple sclerosis quickly is a crucial factor in treating the disease successfully, so the National MS Society is devoting funds to that effort.
Fitzgerald first noticed something was wrong when her face began to itch. She visited dermatologists in a fruitless attempt to figure out what was irritating her skin. Then her tongue went numb, and she lost her sense of taste. Finally she underwent an MRI, and doctors discovered spots on her brain. After six months, she was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis.
She and her husband, John, 48, had put off starting a family when they were married in 1994. Then they were told having children was unlikely. She told him that if he wanted, he could leave her for someone else.
"I said, 'Really?'" John Fitzgerald said. "Good times and bad times, sickness and health."
In 2010, they found out Lisa was pregnant. They named their son, Archer, after Lisa's doctor, Dr. Lee Archer, professor of neurology at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences in Little Rock.
It has taken his wife a while to come to terms with her illness, John Fitzgerald said. The low moment might have been when she had to take a wheelchair to get through an airport. She rested on the weekends, and admits to feeling like she "wasted time on the couch."
"About a year and a half ago, she decided, 'I'm not missing weekends,'" John Fitzgerald said.
She bought the recumbent bike, and started bicycling along the Arkansas River Trail. Eventually she built enough stamina to go the entire loop. In June she did the Tour de Rock, finishing last. Then she took part in this race. She said she's lost 65 pounds.
"I don't know what my future's going to be," she said. "But I can't think about that. I just have to keep going."
Then she rose stiffly to her feet, and walked away with her son.
Metro on 09/12/2016