Kathie Reid
I have ridden with the Tyler Hamilton Foundation since 2004, and in doing so, I am pedaling for Lisa. I met Lisa Kelly in 1992, and though she was already suffering symptoms, it wasn’t until seven years later that she was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis.
While I find great joy in riding whether I’m racing or doing a casual ride, there are no words to describe the feelings I have when I conquer a challenging ride in Lisa’s honor, a ride that also furthers MS research and public awareness. I often experience “Lisa Moments” when I’m pushing myself to my physical and mental limits, as I did on Passo Fedaia in the Italian Dolomites on the 2007 MS Global, and I’m suddenly overwhelmed with the realization that my struggle is nothing compared to the challenge that Lisa is faced with each day. While she is on new medication that has greatly increased her quality of life over the last year, she spent many years not knowing from one day to the next whether she’d be able to cuddle with one of her sons without experiencing great pain, whether she’d be able to make it through the day without using the wheelchair she keeps in the closet, or whether she’d be able to focus her eyesight enough to read one of her favorite books. She continues to live with the uncertainly of how long the current medication will keep working.
Lisa is one of my best friends, and one of the strongest and most courageous people I have ever met. I consider it an incredible gift to be able to ride for her and for others with MS, and appreciate the work that the Tyler Hamilton Foundation does to make that possible.