Disposing of My Hope for a Future

Did you know that selling items through eBay for Charity has dual benefits? Proceeds from the sale go to your designated charity (benefit #1) while you get the tax deduction for your donation (benefit #2). Everybody wins!

NEVER STOP NEVER QUIT is a registered charity under this program. Have items you want to get rid of? Want to support our fight against the devastating effects of multiple sclerosis? Look no further than this fantastic program: https://charity.ebay.com/charity/i/NEVER-STOP-NEVER-QUIT/121016.

My promotional spot is over. Back to the story.

I always want to support our fight. It’s kind of my thing.

Progressing my MS has created some items in my life that I no longer need.

Fifteen years ago, I lost the ability to ride a bicycle without serious injury. My solution was to trade for a recumbent bike.

In 2012, I lost the ability to ride a recumbent trike without serious injury. My solution was to trade for a recumbent tricycle.

This year marks the loss of my ability to ride a fucking tricycle. Without another downgrade option, my solution was to sell my Catrike Expedition. Back over to eBay for Charity. I did my research and set a fair starting price. Thanks to my master’s degree in English and Creative Writing, I crafted a titillating narrative for my posting. It was a masterpiece that would soften even the most miserly curmudgeon and make them want to bid hundreds, nay thousands, of dollars over my starting price. I took a few pictures of my trike and the accessories collection to go with it.

My hands shook with fear as I scrolled through my smart phone, looking for the perfect shot. Grainy, poorly staged images failed to capture the saving grace that yellow racer provided when it swooped into my life twelve years ago. I circled the garage, photographing from every angle, hoping to capture something better. The constant urge to cry pounded in my head.

You can even ride a tricycle.

MS has taken so much from me and shows no sign of easing its assault. Offering my trike as a sacrifice would not satisfy its appetite. It won’t ask for more, it will just take.

My anger grew, directed at the entire swath of issues MS layers over my life. Everything that it took, is taking, and will take, pounded in my brain. I took his seat in the basket of my trike before I passed out. My options were obvious.

1 - Stop.

2 - Quit.

3 - Whatever option my body can piece together that is the stark contrast of stopping and quitting.

Maybe I put my trike back on the indoor trainer. After the second-degree burns on my toes heal and I can put my bike shoes on, I will ride in the garage again, as I did during the pandemic. When my legs are stronger, I can upgrade to a closed track. When my arm is stronger, I can move on to a safe stretch of road. When next year rolls around, I can take part in bike MS 2025.

Not if, when. The ifs come later if this turns into a striking victory for my efforts to Never Stop… Never Quit…, my message becomes more powerful. If this is another of my tragic, painful catastrophes on the Oregon asphalt, the need to protect the next generation becomes more poignant.

I scrapped my draft eBay for Charity posting, put my trike and gear back into their proper holding area, and then came in to write my story.

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, come hell or high water, I will ride again!

 

Never Stop… Never Quit…®

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