I will share the joys, pains,
and dirty little secrets of my life with multiple sclerosis. My goal is to find
a reason to convince you to support/share my fight against MS. Please donate
today: http://main.nationalmssociety.org/goto/eleanor.
I require more than 30
Efforts, less would create an unsubstantial portrait of the man who needs your
support. 30 days is an unrealistic timeline — once discovered, neither accurate
words nor the courage to write them, develop so quickly. How many efforts will this take, and how much
time will require to share them? I don’t know the answer, so I will just
continue writing.
This is Effort Number 32…
I spent a lot of time over
this series of efforts looking into the past. It’s something I don’t want to do
anymore, at least not now. I want to talk about how I am shaping the next act
in the tale, Never Stop… Never Quit… – The Story of One Man’s Fight.
[Catchy.]
Thanks.
As a necessary evil, I will
capitulate one last look back before focus shifts towards my future.
$54,500.71 is our 2019 total,
a combination of Eleanor’s Bike MS fundraising efforts and money donated/raised
directly by NEVER STOP NEVER QUIT for the MS Gala. Combine those numbers with
the 15 other riders on Team Amulet, and our grand total raised for the National
MS Society’s Oregon Chapter in 2019 was $83,608.71! The MS Society’s fiscal
year ended on September 30 — those numbers are the final tally of an incredible
year. My heartfelt thanks go out to every donor, supporter, and volunteer who
helped make our success unforgettable.
I will spend more time
thanking everyone over the next few months. Your efforts are making a
difference. Directly, the money you helped raise is contributing to
advancements in research and development of more effective MS treatments,
improved care management for those fighting the disease, and bettered our work
as we aim to move forward towards a world free of MS.
The “official” numbers have
not yet been posted, but ours will not change. I wanted to grasp this
opportunity to brag about our success and say thank you. The wins recorded are
doing more than benefiting the over 9400 people in Oregon and Southwest
Washington fighting MS (nearly 1 million across the US and more than 2.3 million
worldwide). Your support has directly aided my treatment, physically, mentally,
and emotionally. Thank you.
I will continue to say thanks;
I’ll draft and send out our annual thank you cards; I’ll send more books as a sign
of appreciation. I remain weighted, however, by The Constant Noise of My
Future I shared with you back in the Effort 18. I still firmly believe,
“My future is unclear and unwritten. That’s OK.” The burning desire to share
facets gaining clarity is too much to hold between only myself and my Inside
Voice.
[It’s like you need to share
things before their reality becomes apparent.]
I need to share things before
their reality becomes apparent.
[It’s like you can’t plan
anymore. It’s time to act.]
I can’t plan anymore. It’s
time to act.
[It’s like you’re going to go
insane if you keep on talking to yourself.]
Stop it!
[Sorry…]
Effort 33 and beyond is my
future, sharpened by everything that happened to me, everything I experienced,
everyone who shaped me. I want to talk about my plans, successes, and struggles
– both now and tomorrow – yesterday is only a measuring stick.
What are the constant noises I
hear today regarding my future? Suspense and uncertainty may make for great
plot development in my next book, but it surely won’t work well if I try to
talk about my life. Some of the areas they intend to cover in my next series of
efforts include:
- The end of Team Amulet: after 18 years, with over $750,000 raised, I am folding the flag on Team Amulet. Next year, we ride with our new family – Team Road Kill!
- I’ll share my 2020 physical rehabilitation and development goals, including Angel’s Rest, Cycling, Tunnel2Towers, and so much more.
- My newest struggle – one I never saw coming.
- Wine, Beer, and bike MS will return in 2020, bigger and better than we have ever seen.
- If all goes well, I’ll be back in school this time next year. That, in itself, may make a great story.
- more…
Nothing changes, yet
everything is different.
[Everything changes.]
True, that is the one
unvarying constant.
[Stop it!]
Sorry…
I hope these stories will
inspire you to join my fight to 2020.
Because it is a fight.
The fight is not over and it won’t be over until a cure is found.
It will never stop…nor will we
It will never quit…nor will we
This is why we ride!
100%
of the royalties earned from my books go to the National MS Society, to support
our fight: http://neverstopneverquit.com/books
Never Stop… Never Quit…®
Kevin
Byrne
Portland,
OR
Never Stop…
Never Quit…
Reg. U.S. Pat. & Tm. Off.
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