I was asked to join this amazing fundracing team, Team Endurance for MS in association with Rampy MS Research Foundation, to bring awareness to the world of Multiple Sclerosis and to help in the necessary research to find a cure.  An amazing family that is close to my heart has been struck by this disease.  Seth Bowers was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis in December 2006. Below you will learn of the  brave and vulnerable story through the eyes, mind, heart and soul of his wife, Jessica.

I dedicate my fundracin' for Multiple Sclerosis research to The Bower Clan- Seth (diagnosed December 2006), Jessica, Sawyer and Cohen, anyone diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis, and the individuals that may be diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis until there is a cure. CURE MS!


Her Story: "D" is for "Diagnosis" by Jessica Bowers

From a Journal Entry – December 30th, 2006 8:03pm        
                           

                                                      “D” is for “Diagnosis”:

For several days, Seth had been having an issue with some “spotty” vision in his left eye, something his optometrist was unable to diagnose. The date is now December 13th, 2006. And so two doctors, an MRI and several extensive blood panels later, here we were sitting in another doctor’s office, waiting for the results of the MRI. The point of the MRI was to try to rule out demyelinating disease. We were hoping for the best. While as the cliché’ goes, you try to “expect the worst”, I know now that there’s no way to fully prepare yourself for bad news. We are sitting in silence. Hands clenched, minds racing hoping it’s not what we have grown the last few days to fear the most. A knock on the door, and Dr. Wooldridge walks in. In his usual professional manner, he shakes our hands and asks how we’re doing, and then he pauses for a moment before he delivers the news that we absolutely didn’t want to hear. As politely as he could in what seemed like slow motion, he told us that the MRI revealed some “Hot Spots” on Seth’s brain in areas consistent with Multiple Sclerosis, one being directly on his optic nerve. This was causing major inflammation to the nerve the result of which was the sudden loss of vision in his left eye. “Some Hot Spots”? What does that mean. “How many is “some?”, I ask. To answer the question I know he was dreading, Dr. Wooldridge looks down at his clipboard, looks back up at me, pauses and quietly says, “thirteen”. There’s a burning in my throat, my lungs, and if it is possible to physically feel your heart break, I think that I experienced it at that moment. More slow motion as we try to gather our thoughts enough collectively to stand up and walk out of what felt like a black hole we’d just been absorbed into. We rode the elevator down from the doctor’s office hand in hand, but completely silent. My brain is fumbling for thoughts of what I can possibly say. What do you tell the person that you love most in this world to make something like this better? I couldn’t think of anything so instead over and over in my mind I am telling myself to hold it together. I HAVE to be strong for him. We make our way across the parking lot to the truck, part hands and climb in. In that horrible moment I’ll never forget, I wanted so badly to hold him up when he needed it most. I’m so caught up in my own thoughts of what to do that I’m almost startled when he reaches out and grabs my hand again. I turn to look at him and struggling just as hard to hold back the tears as I am, he says, “Babe, if you need to cry, you can.” Everything broke loose. We cried. We cried hard. We held each other and then sometime in the moments or hours after that, we began our journey with this disease by driving to his new neurologist’s office for what would be the first of hundreds of treatments that he would endure as a commitment to fight this disease. This isn’t “His disease”. This is “our disease”. And we are going to fight it as hard as we can– together.

My Encouragement by Jessica Bowers 

April 2016

Since Seth’s diagnosis we’ve been blessed with two beautiful, amazing children. Our daughter, Sawyer is 5 and son, Cohen is almost 1-year-old. We are the lucky ones. Sawyer and Cohen don’t know their Daddy has MS. To be honest the thought of having to explain it to them or worse, have them see its effects on Seth is enough to break my heart in this moment. The fight against this disease is important because all over the world there are mommies, daddies, sisters, brothers, grandma’s and grandpa’s…..all fighting this disease. MS knows no boundaries to the demographics that it affects. Your support matters. It matters to people like us and to people you’ve never met. Through our continued fight, it is our hope that one day there will be a cure and that no one will ever again have to hear the words “you have MS”.




About the 2016 Team Endurance for MS
People with MS endure and encourage us onward, despite circumstances. It is our aim that we capture that spirit and share the encouragement forward through participating in endurance events. No matter what brings us to the starting line, we cheer each other to the finish line - in sport, in health and in life.

How It Works
Team Endurance for MS is an endurance sports team organized by the Rampy MS Research Foundation. When you join the team, you commit to a fundraising minimum. Upon joining, we connect you with fellow team members and help equip you with fundraising tips and tools. Oh ya, we also hook you up with some cool swag!

How You Can Help

• Donate. Encourage us on with whatever you feel called to give. Consider giving a $1 for every mile I'll complete.

• Share. Read our stories and tell your friends and family about our effort by posting them to Facebook and Twitter.

• Join my fundraiser. Click "create your own fundraiser" and join my fundraising team or create your own fundrace.  

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Train. Race. Give.

This is what we do - all in the name of MS research. We call it fundracin' and you can help.  

Support the 2016 Team Endurance for MS
People with MS endure and encourage us onward, despite circumstances. It is our aim that we capture that spirit and share the encouragement forward through participating in endurance events. No matter what brings us to the starting line, we cheer each other to the finish line - in sport, in health and in life.

Team Endurance for MS is an endurance sports team organized by the Rampy MS Research Foundation. Anyone can join the team. You name the race, and we support it! Currently, we offer participation in four ways:

When you join the team, you commit to a fundraising minimum. Upon joining, we connect you with fellow team members and help equip you with fundraising tips and tools. Oh ya, we also hook you up with some cool swag!

Ironman triathlete, Ryan Dagly, is the 2016 Team Captain. I'm also fundracin' with 50+ other athletes dedicated to this effort! Together, we aim to raise over $30,000 for MS research. How can you use what you do to encourage the world of MS and beyond? Learn how you can get involved.

Know the Numbers

• MS is most commonly diagnosed in young adults.
• 80% of MS patients develop MS between the ages of 16 and 45.
• Women are more frequently diagnosed with MS by at least 2 to 1.
• MS is the leading cause of disability in young women and the second leading cause of disability in young men.
• About 350,000 people live with MS in the United States. 200 new patients are diagnosed, every week. If each person diagnosed has just one family member, friend or caregiver, that's 700,000 people impacted.

About MS
MS is a progressive and unpredictable disease of the central nervous system that disrupts communication between the brain and other parts of the body. The severity of the disease and its symptoms vary from person to person. The cause is unknown. There is no known cure--yet.

About the Rampy MS Research Foundation
We bring encouragement to the world of MS and beyond through the power of endurance sports, community and research. You can help. Join us and help change lives to save lives.

Swim. Bike. Run. Encourage!