Occasional reader bleg

From occasional reader and commenter “SeniorD”, a special request for your consideration:

First and foremost, before I begin, I’d like to express my sincere thanks to Captain Lex for the privilege of putting this bleg before his many readers.

What do Neil Cavuto, Montel Williams, Terri Garr, David Lander, Annette Funicello and I have in common? Well, for one thing, it certainly isn’t income levels; nor is it a well-known name. No, what we all share in common is a auto-immune disease called Multiple Sclerosis or simply MS.

MS affects every person differently. For example Neil Cavuto memorizes the entire script for his popular Fox News program. Why? Well, in his words, he may not be able to see the teleprompter. Teri Garr was extremely busy acting in such movies as ‘Oh God’ and ‘Mr. Mom’. She still puts in an exhausting day only now it’s centered on MS Advocacy. When she was in Madison last year, everyone saw the toll MS is taking on her. As for Ms. Funicello? Well, when filming a dance sequence for ‘Back to the Beach’, she noticed her coordination was not what it used to be. After filming was complete, she consulted a doctor and was told she had an aggressive form of MS. Nowadays, she is confined to a wheelchair and or bed. David Lander, ‘Squiggy’ from ‘Laverne and Shirley’ fame, went public with his affliction in 1999. His autobiography Fall Down Laughing: How Squiggy caught Multiple Sclerosis and Don’t Tell Nobody was published in 2002.

Me? I have relapsing-remitting MS, nowhere near as aggressive as what afflicts Ms. Funicello or my High School classmates Leah Baker and Darlene LeClair. I’ve been fighting the disease since 1992 and, for what its worth, MS is NOT a Service-Connected Disability. Trust me on this one.

I’m able to live a near-normal life thanks to medications that only became available through research. I ride my bike (although not nearly as far or as hard as Cap’n Lex), swim, ride horses and spend hours a day managing various IT projects. Hey, I can even walk and chew gum at the same time! However, I’m also extremely fatigued all the time, I worry about the loss of cognitive functions and coordination. My legs spasm at night and, sometimes, during the day; I won’t bore you with the double vision I also experience at random intervals. Despite all this, I don’t let the disease get me down, and that’s the reason for this bleg.

Every year for the past 5 years, I ride my bicycle in the MS 150K Bike Tour. This will be my second year riding Wisconsin’s ‘Best Dam Bike Tour’ as part of the Sonic Streamers Bike Team. I ride 100 miles on Saturday then another 75 miles on Sunday (Not bad for a washed up Senior Chief with Grandkids). I’m asking for your support by contributing some of your hard-earned money for this tax-deductible, charity.

I’ve set up a Personal Web page off the Wisconsin MS Society’s Main Bike Tour site. Please consider making a donation; as I’ve said its tax deductible and greatly appreciated.

I never ride for myself. I ride for others who, no matter how much they’d like to, can’t.

Thank you.

Terry Dexter
‚ÄòSeniorD’