Pam Spence
Carlisle, PA
When Pam Spence, 45, was first diagnosed with MS in 1993 at age 35, her neurologist said she would have to limit her activity. She remembers thinking, "Hurry and tell me what you have to say because I have a bike ride to lead." That’s when she decided to switch to her present neurologist, who started her on Betaseron®, and increase her workouts.
"I realized that I had to do all-over body conditioning to overcome some of the balance issues and keep my muscles strong," says Pam, a competitive cyclist whose only real symptoms are a little dizziness, shaky hands and some problems with her balance, which disappear when she rides her bike. Pam gets up at 4:30 am to lift weights and swim at her local Y. She does spinning in the evening and when weather permits, averages 200 miles per week on her bike.
Her Betaseron® Champions of Courage grant will help to underwrite costs for the eight MS 150 rides (the two-day cycling events that benefit the National MS Society and are at least 150 miles in length) she plans to complete in 2003. Pam will start her tour in Houston, TX in April where she will ride for Team Betaseron. Her eight rides will take her to six different states and cover more than 1,200 miles. Her best friend and cycling partner of 10 years will join her on many of the rides. (A complete ride schedule is included on this site.)
For the first 10 years that Pam had MS, she kept it hidden from all but her immediate family and closest friends. As an athlete, she did not want anyone to pity or feel sorry for her. All the while she kept herself in shape for competitive cycling, which had been her passion since 1983. But by 2002, she began to feel like she wanted to do something productive on her bike – something to inspire others with MS – and go public with her story. After reading about the MS 150 bike rides, she decided to ride in six MS 150 rides in 2002.
When asked about the most difficult part of all this, she says it’s not the riding, but the logistics: traversing through the airports, going through security, and checking her bike on the plane. "Riding 150 miles is the easy part!" she exclaims.
"I have found that through these rides I have touched a lot of people. My whole idea for doing this was to raise awareness by showing people that you can have MS and do this!" Pam is very proud of the fact that people are surprised when they learn she has MS. "When I put my bike helmet on, I don’t have a sign on me that says I have MS," she says.
Pam lives with her boyfriend Kevin and two dogs and works full-time for a heavy equipment and assembly company.
