Federal Way woman’s family goes on the road – on bikes – to defeat M.S.
Published 9:30 am Wednesday, August 10, 2016
From time to time, Scott Petty does a treacherous commute to work from Issaquah to Seattle – on his bike.
Petty doesn’t do it for the environment and he doesn’t do it to show off his peak physical condition. He does it in a show of support for his mom, Federal Way resident Karen Francisco, who suffers from multiple sclerosis.
Upon being diagnosed with the autoimmune disorder in 2003, Francisco and her son turned to action instead of despair. A few years after her diagnosis, the two joined the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, Greater Northwest Chapter. After some time and planning, the two rallied three generations of family, plus a handful of close friends, to form their own 18-member bike-riding team, called “Ironic Stompin,” with the name coming from the hope that enough awareness and money can be raised to defeat the disorder all together.
“I think the combination of the bike-riding and the fact that I had been diagnosed with M.S. become very personal for him,” Francisco said of Petty. “The fact that he knew someone he is very close to has M.S. really hit home for him, I think.”
Despite suffering from M.S., Francisco began riding with her son in 2006. She’s participated in each race with the rest of the team, which can span distances of 48 to 172 miles.
Petty said Francisco is usually able to ride up to 60 miles before fatigue takes its toll, but he said her limitations have never deterred her from continuing to ride for a cure.
“I couldn’t be prouder of her,” Petty said, fighting back tears. “The last few years have been hard. The condition has made life, work and everything else more challenging. It’s clear when she rides she really does it with a sense of pride.”
Mileage on the bike and money aren’t the only goals Francisco hopes to see. The other is in the eyes of her granddaughter.
Francisco said she hopes a cure is found by the time her granddaughter gets her diploma.
“I also ride in the hopes that they find a cure by the time she graduates,” she said. “I want her to be a part of that, to know she did something big that helped make that cure possible.”
A piece to remember
Petty said he’ll forever remember this journey, taken alongside his mother. Not because it’s been, as Petty described it, an “emotion roller coaster,” but because he was inspired by Francisco’s resilience to keep fighting through riding a bike.
In 2010, Petty documented the journey with a tattoo, one that features a stick-like character with large shoes stomping on the official M.S. logo, all inside of a bike chain. He said it was something he felt he “just had to do.”
“I wanted a way to express mine and my family’s desire to stomp out M.S.,” Petty said. “I also want people to know that, while I may not be the one who has M.S., This thing is a part of me just as much as it’s a part of her. The point of the tattoo is to let everyone know that I’m in this fight with M.S. till the end of it.”
Petty also admitted he was excited to get the tattoo for the shock factor in Francisco.
“She was so shocked that her 36-year-old son went out and got his first tattoo,” he said. “But after that wore off she was so happy with the design and idea behind it.”
What M.S. looks like
Anyone, anywhere, can have M.S. and you’d never know it. It’s a disorder that can give no outward appearance that something is dangerously wrong on the inside.
“It’s a situation where you can look perfectly normal on the outside,” Francisco said. “To a point where people are like, ‘What’s wrong? You look fine.’ But I’m actually not fine. M.S. on the outside can basically be faceless. That’s why it’s important to do stuff like the bike rides so we can get the word out.”
Francisco and Petty both said they love concepts like Bike M.S. because an M.S. diagnosis can come with fear, anger and uncertainty. Many patients simply don’t know where to turn for support outside of their immediate family.
This family found their external support through the NMSS Northwest Chapter, and it’s helped with the emotional process and helped the family form lasting friendships with others around the Northwest who are going through the same emotions.
“The faster you can get to the NMSS website, the faster you get to a doctor, the more manageable those feelings can be,” Francisco said. “Whatever you do, don’t let those initial feelings take you over and don’t give up the fight.”
What’s next
The family is now turning its attention to Sept. 10 and 11, when they’ll ride once again in the hopes of defeating M.S.
Francisco and Petty said the financial goal of the next ride is to raise $20,000. But for the family, the chance to raise awareness and money pales in comparison to the value of living life to its fullest and seeing old friends again.
“Yes, it’s about raising awareness to find a cure, and the money is for the research,” Francisco said. “But for me and my family, it’s about seeing people. The chance to see our ‘long-distance friends and family,’ the opportunity for us to all come together once again, is what it’s all about.”
