Lesson Learned

MS Cape Cod 150 mile Getaway debrief; well at least 75 miles of it: 

I'll start off by saying that the MS Cape Cod getaway is absolutely amazing! It is full of amazing riders with one mission in mind; to help fund finding a cure for MS! This year there were over 2,100 cyclists!! This is one of the most well organized events out there; right up there with the Boston Marathon in my opinion.


Thank you too to all of my donors!! I was able to raise $1,065!!!!


It was raining at the starting line (poured at some points), but it felt good because it was cool. It probably rained for the first 2 hours or so and then it cleared up.  I was feeling great! I met some great people along the way who asked me about my diagnosis and actually invited me to their Tiki Tent in Bourne that afternoon and to be on their team next year. Their team name is Pep's Peddlers and this year raised over $100,000 for MS!!! THANK YOU Pep's!!


My goal was to get there as fast as I could to get in the showers and relax for the rest of the day, stupidly I did not stop until mile 51 to stretch and grab a bite to eat. After that I only stopped one other time to grab an orange slice and more Gatorade. After 5 1/2 hours and 75 miles I made it and felt amazing!  I had not been on my bike since this ride in 2009, so I was quite happy!! During the ride I had a lot of time to think about my most recent MRI's and the fact that I am not going to let them stop me. I really am so incredibly blessed with all I have in life. My husband, son, family, friends, church, home, job, overall health, etc... I had forgotten how INCREDIBLE it feels to be on the bike; to feel the wind, to breathe the fresh air while riding, to take in the surroundings, to use my legs as an engine on the bike...LOVE IT!


When I got to Bourne, I made my appointment for my massage for 2:45; plenty of time to shower and get settled in my room. I got to my room and unpacked everything into the closet, took a shower, got dressed. My mom had sent me a text at 2:10 and asked me how I felt. My response: "never felt better!"


I grabbed my hairdryer at 2:15; I only know this because I checked my clock to see how much time I had before my massage began.  I flipped my head over to start drying and immediately felt myself falling over. I landed on my duffel bag and kept saying "don't pass out Melissa, just don't pass out." It was very odd trying to tell my brain to stay awake.  I started yelling for help, but nobody could hear as the door was closed.


I crawled over to the hallway and laid on the floor until someone came. 2 cyclists found me and called for the EMT's. The EMT's came and hooked me up to an IV and brought me to the hospital by ambulance. I was beyond severely dehydrated. I had only had 1/2 a bottle of water and 1 bottle of Gatorade. I received 6 bags of IV fluid. I can not believe I could be so dumb and not drink enough. I could not complete the ride this year and do day two. Beyond devastated about it, but realize that it was my own fault for not hydrating.  

I was in the hospital and a woman who works for the MS Society came to visit me not once but twice to see how I was doing. She also had my stuff packed for me and brought my belongings and my bike to the hospital so Matt could have them for when he picked me up. All total I was in the ER from 3:15 to 11:00 pm.

BUT everything happens for a reason right!?  The woman who came to visit me is the Vice President of volunteer services, so I look forward to taking to her some more to see how I can give back to the MS Society!!

There is always next year and I hope to be on Pep's team!!