This Ride's For You

To summarize my mom in one word it would be inspiring. A pioneer for women in the sports industry, she always fought for opportunity and the words “never” and “can’t” didn’t exist in her vocabulary. My mom has thrived on the ability communicate. A self proclaimed talker and story teller, there was hardly a moment that went by at a social gathering she didn’t have a group of people enthralled in the story she was telling. In the spring of 2021 mom started to have difficulty with a raspy voice, but living in North Carolina we all assumed it was allergies, doctors included. However, as the weeks passed, no remedy was providing relief. My mom being who she was knew this was a much bigger issue. After countless tests and doctor’s appointments in July of 2021 she officially received the news she had been dreading. An already unimaginable disease, the first thing my mom lost the ability to do was speak. While devastated, her and my dad never gave up looking for a solution, but as many have sadly experienced, the progression of this disease can be unfairly quick. In February of 2023, mom lost her battle with ALS. I'm participating in Ride to Defeat ALS to raise funds and awareness to help fight back against this terrible disease. The ALS Association provides much needed patient services resources, funds global, cutting edge research, and much more in order to help those living with ALS right in our community. The Ride to Defeat ALS is an exciting opportunity for us to work together to support those affected by ALS and to spread awareness of the urgency of our cause and to push for treatments and a cure.