By Tracy Idell Hamilton, The San Antonio Express-News
Bexar County sheriff’s Cpl. Annette B. Johnson was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in April.
It didn’t take long for her to discover how many partners she really has.
Saturday, 24 of her co-workers -- including Sheriff Ralph Lopez -- will tied orange bandannas around their heads as her “pedal partners.” They will join 2,000 other cyclists for a 150-mile, two-day “Bike to the Beach” ride to Corpus Christi to raise money for the Lone Star Chapter of the Multiple Sclerosis Society.
Johnson, 39, inscribed a personal “thank-you” message on each bandanna.
“I didn’t even know we had a team,” said Johnson, who is still on the job. “I heard about a meeting over the P.A. system and went to it. I was just stunned. It means so much to me. But they’re not riding just for me. They’re riding to find a cure.”
Johnson was diagnosed with MS, an autoimmune disease affecting the central nervous system, after recurring migraines and blurred vision turned, in one frightening day, into almost total blindness, she said.
Tests revealed lesions on her brain, a hallmark of MS. She has regained her sight and is in an experimental treatment program.
To ride, each cyclist pledged to raise at least $200. Many raise much more - between $1,000 and $25,000, according to Roy Rangel, the Lone Star Chapter’s vice president and executive director. The chapter will make $8 million from three rides this year, Rangel said.
This is the first year that the Sheriff’s Department has ridden as a group. Deputy Chief Keith L. Charlton, the team’s captain, said he’s gratified to see how many people signed up.
“The bonding has just been tremendous,” Charlton said. “It’s boosted morale among the entire office, too, not just among riders.”
He thinks even more would have signed up if they’d had more time to prepare.
“It was sort of last minute this year, but next year we’re going to plan ahead,” he said. “I know we’ll have many more riders.”
Deputy Jason Garcia is riding to do a good deed and challenge himself. Having Johnson as a “pedal partner” reminds him that he’s lucky.
“This challenge is a fraction of what people with multiple sclerosis have to deal with,” he said.
MS symptoms can include fatigue, blurred or double vision and numbness or tingling in the limbs. Anyone can get MS, which is usually diagnosed between the ages of 20 and 50. The disease primarily affects women, but Johnson is quick to point out that it can attack anyone.
“It crosses all boundaries,” she said, “gender, race and class. Anyone can get it.
“This ride is important because it raises money, but it also raises awareness,” she said. “I had never heard of (MS). I could have gone blind.”