A Ride to Remember
User Story
It was the week before Christmas when my family found out that my sister, Erin, was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis. It was earth shattering for the entire family, but especially for Erin who has two young children and a successful career with the Edmonton Police Service. To date Erin has had 2 attacks one of which was a profound sensory attack leaving her unable to feel about 85% of her body as well as losing her ability to walk. This was the last and most recent attack and it resulted in outpatient treatments in the hospital followed by being admitted for a month as various medical solutions were explored to alleviate her symptoms.
Thankfully, the Edmonton medical community, the Edmonton MS Society, and Erin’s doctor are very supportive. Everyone seems to be going above and beyond their duties to try to find a solution for Erin. Her doctor is confident that within 5 years we can find a cure.
I really want to help raise awareness about MS and to find a way to raise money for research. We are lucky to live in a city like Edmonton, which has such great medical services at the University of Alberta Hospital and the Royal Alexandra Hospital. We also have such supportive and giving community. No matter what the cause, Edmontonians will find a way to lend a hand.
I’m currently working for the Edmonton Police Service, just like my sister and both our mom and dad before us. I had some vacation time saved up and I was going to just ride my Harley into the U.S. but I decided that I should try to use this time to do something meaningful. There is a great saying: “When you’re young give your time, when you’re old give your money.” I don’t have a lot of expendable income right now, but I can give my time to the cause and in doing so, hopefully raise more money and awareness about MS through my Ride for MS
The plan is to ride my Harley across Canada. My dad and I are starting in St. Johns on July 17th. We are riding for about 33 days and covering 12000km. Some days we will be riding less than 200km, but on the long days through the prairies we will be logging about 600km.
Thankfully, local MS chapters throughout Canada have really responded to the idea and will be welcoming us throughout the ride. We are excited to finish the ride on August 19th in Edmonton and we hope to have a contingent of bikers riding with us to the finish line, including the Blue Knights, which is a group of law enforecement bike riders.
Where Next?
Chris was born and raised in St. Albert, but moved to Japan where he worked in a number of different fields while learning Japanese. He moved back to Edmonton to follow in the footsteps of his family and joined the Edmonton Police Service. He is a Harley enthusiast and has a black belt in Karate.
