When Cherry Hill resident Patty Taylor’s son Sean was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis at the age of 10, she was shocked.
“I thought, what do you mean MS?” she said. “That’s not a kids’ disease. Only adults get MS.”
Patty, a nurse, would soon learn kids do get MS and finding viable treatments for those children was still in the works.
This revelation eventually pushed Taylor and her family to participate in the MS Society’s Bike MS: City to Shore Ride. This annual ride will take place on Sunday, Sept. 28. It begins in Cherry Hill at the Woodcrest train station and ends in Ocean City. All of the money raised goes toward MS research.
Patty and Sean are participating for the ninth time this year. Shortly after Sean was diagnosed, a friend rode in Sean’s honor, introducing the Taylors to the National MS Society and the event.
That year, the family did not ride, but waited at the finish line for the riders. Being a part of the event inspired them to form a team the following year.
“He said, ‘Mom I want to do this next year,’” Taylor said. “So the next year, myself, Sean and my father did the ride.”
In 2006, Team Taylor was formed. It was initially comprised of just a few family members. The first year, the family raised about $7,000.
Unlike some other people diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, Sean has been able to participate in the bike ride each year. Patty described Sean as an athletic kid who was always very active. She said he has done well with the medication prescribed to him.
“Sean’s been on this injection for once a week for nine years,” Taylor said. “He’s been doing great, but other kids aren’t so lucky.”
Team Taylor has grown has the years have gone on. As a result, the amount of money they raised has grown as well. Coming into this year. Team Taylor has collected more than $80,000 in donations for the MS Society.
“They’ve been so great,” Taylor said. “We’ve been so lucky and we’ve had such great care. I want to make sure everyone can get the same sort of care we get.”
Today, Sean is a 19-year-old sophomore at TCNJ. After he began college, Patty was unsure if he’d want to continue doing the bike ride. However, there was nothing stopping Sean from participating.
“He asked, ‘When are you going to sign us up for the ride?’” Taylor said. “He said ‘I’m just going to keep riding. Nothing is going to stop me from riding until there’s a cure.’”
Team Taylor will be doing the 45-mile ride on Sept. 28. Participants can choose to ride a short distance or the full route from Cherry Hill to Ocean City.
So far, the bike ride has almost $4 million. Participants can visit bikepae.nationalmssociety.org to form a team. Donations can also be made at the website.
