Redlands resident, Darren Martin, was just 28 years old when his short-term memory started to fail. “My wife would ask me to go out and get some milk and I’d get to the store a quarter mile away and I would have to call her and ask what I was doing there,” recalls Darren. After Darren’s 1999 diagnosis with multiple sclerosis, he became glum. “I felt like I was all alone. I felt like nobody else could understand what I was dealing with,” recalls Darren.
In 2005, six years after his diagnosis, Darren began to change his outlook on life and on MS. “My focus was take a pro-active role in MS. It became a matter of how I was going to view this condition. I have accepted the things I cannot change and adapt to make them work for me.”
Darren recalls his first interaction with the chapter, “The first form of communication was by phone. I remember talking with a person that was upbeat and took a genuine interest in helping me.” Over the years, Darren has attended chapter support groups, mentioning, “I am the only one in my support group whose memory is affected.”
Darren began to exercise at the gym. He shortly learned that he was able to sit really well, however couldn’t stand for any length of time, “but I could ride a bike all day long. Cycling changed my outlook. I have this disease, but it's not going to hold me back.” Darren rode in the Bike MS Tour 2006 – 2008, and was nominated as the Most Inspirational Rider in 2007, an honor given to Bike MS cyclists living with MS who have overcome the disease in one way or another. Darren recalls others’ reactions of his commitment to cycle in the Bike MS Tour, “People used to tell me, ‘You can't do this or you can't do that; you can't ride a bike’ but I'm not going to let other people's opinions stop me. I am doing my part. I'm doing all I can to raise awareness about MS. Not only am I riding for the cure, but also for the things I can do.”
For many years, Darren rode his bike 10 miles everyday to the gym to work out for a couple of hours and then rode his bike 10 miles home. He says he did it so he could “go home feeling good.” However, since early 2009, Darren’s leg fatigue and lack of muscle control have made him unable to continue cycling. Darren enjoys being a Champion for other Bike MS cyclists and attends many of the events the chapter offers. “Though I do keep busy, I spend a majority of my time sitting (wheel chair, chair at the computer, etc.).”
“I enjoy meeting with newly diagnosed people and show them that life will not necessarily be a misery because of the diagnosis, but rather this will be a time that you simply learn to do things different. I no longer view things as something I ‘can’t’ do, but rather I view them as ‘doing something differently’ than I was used to doing it.”
Though the cause of multiple sclerosis is not known, it is a disease of the central nervous system typically diagnosed in the prime-of-life years, ages 20-50. MS is the most common neurological disease leading to disability in young adults. To learn more about MS, Darren, chapter programs and services, fundraising events, sponsorship/underwriting chapter activities, or to donate, email Heather.Cavazos@MSpacific.org, visit www.MSpacific.org or call 1-800-486-6762.
Written by volunteer Megan Overholser