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Your message Living With Multiple Sclerosis: How the Drummer EBike "Mia" Changed My Life & Set Me Free

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Here at Drummer Bikes we were touched by the story of a local Florida resident Denise Pace. Denise hadher license revoked due to seizures and other medical complications caused by Multiple Sclerosis.

We want to share her story in her own words:

Living With Multiple Sclerosis: How the Drummer E-Bike "Mia" Changed My Life & Set Me Free

November 1999 I had my first episode of Multiple Sclerosis.

Although everybody's MS is different, one of our most common and challenging symptoms is fatigue. Add the pain, the heat (lucky me living in sunny ol' Florida) and it can make things difficult to get things done.

About two years ago, I permanently lost my drivers license.

Well, I still needed to go places. Since I live alone and have a zero family support system, I looked at my new challenge head on learned all I could about getting around. Taxi service on the Treasure coast is financially impossible for small errands. Next, I looked to the county public bus. Viable in some situations but so many areas are unreachable without a major walk. Walking and heat is what I'm seeking to avoid so I continue my search.

In my county, we have a really great disabled bus service that if you qualify (and I do) a bus will pick you up at your door and bring you to your appointment. This has its pitfalls as having to call two days in advance, waiting to be picked up for the ride home and it can take up to two hours each way to reach your destination.

I live in a condo off a main road with a Publix and CVS is right across the street. There have been times I've gone hungry too fatigued to get to the supermarket. Or many times where I purchased too much. Bags were breaking and my strawberries went rolling down the street being turned into jam. I could only just sit down and laugh.

One day, as luck would have it, a neighbor goes jetting by on a bicycle and HE IS NOT PEDALING! So I stop him and have a chat and that was the delicious day I discovered the Electric Bicycle.

Yes, I've seen the commercials for the mobility scooter but without insurance, the cost is quite prohibitive. They only go about 5 miles per hour so your basically getting nowhere and the battery doesn't last for more than a mile or so. Plus most of us get sick in our 30's and being in a wheelchair or mobility scooter isn't easy. How many times have you heard the words "but you look so healthy..." when you feel so sick, so fatigued its an effort to get up to use the bathroom.

Using the e-bike definitely makes me feel more normal and fit in. But the benefits keep going and going. Besides being able to load groceries in a basket and go out and about whenever I need to it has literally reunited me with the world again.

For really hot days, I got a cooling vest provided to me free by simply going to MS Foundation website and applying for it. My mood has improved. More activity lets me sleep better. Better mood and activity leads to less hospitalizations saving thousands on healthcare. So I began my research on electric bikes, costs, safety, speed, battery longevity, etc. I came across and incredible company called Drummer Bikes located in Hallandale, FL.

I took a wild shot in the dark and emailed the owner. He was really touched by my struggles and my story and the company is becoming an amazing corporate citizen and is becoming involved with fundraising for MS.

If you do decide an e-bike is for you and insist on quality, great customer service AND want to help support people with MS, Drummer Bikes is the only place to go. They re-opened the world to me; they gave me my freedom back.