Daniel Reeves of Fords, left to right, Alicia Cardello of Fords, Kristina White of Edison and Jessica Bills of South Amboy will ride 25 miles in the Bike MS Country Challenge.A lthough it has been a tough road for Jessica Bills — who has watched both her parents struggle with multiple sclerosis (MS) in recent years — the South Amboy resident has tackled it one bike ride at a time.
Jessica, who has been participating in Bike MS rides for four years, was asked to serve as ambassador for the New Jersey Metro Chapter’s 2014 Bike MS Country Challenge, set for Sept. 20-21.
“It’s an honor,” she said, adding that she was thrilled about the opportunity to get her parents’ story out. “It’s probably one of the coolest things that’s ever happened to me.”
Unfortunately, the honor stems from one of the worst things to happen. In 1999, when Jessica was a junior in high school, her father, Kelly, began having bad headaches and feeling fatigued, among other symptoms. About a year of endless tests revealed that Kelly had MS.
As Kelly began treatment and his symptoms started to improve, Jessica’s mother, Janet, started having strange symptoms like pins and needles in her legs, vision problems, fatigue and heat intolerance.
The doctor who had diagnosed Kelly told the Iselin residents that they had a better chance of hitting the lottery than both having MS. Nevertheless, that turned out to be the case.
Janet’s cognitive issues stemming from the disease forced her to stop working and receive disability benefits. Kelly continues to work full-time, but recently grappled with a difficult medication change, Jessica said.
“It was really scary for a little bit,” she said. “Every day is a different battle.”
The battle is one being fought by more than 13,000 people in the New Jersey metropolitan area, as well as by more than 2.3 million people worldwide, according to Bike MS. The unpredictable, often disabling disease of the central nervous system interrupts the flow of information within the brain, and between the brain and the body. Symptoms run the gamut from numbness and tingling to blindness and paralysis.
The unpredictable nature of the disease makes it impossible to pinpoint its progress or specific symptoms from one affected person to the next, according to the organization, but research is bringing the world closer to a cure.
As for Jessica’s part, she and Team JanKel’s Angels have raised more than $10,000 for the cause.
“Despite all the hardships we have been thrown, my family has always been there to support each other through the good, the bad and the ugly,” Jessica said. “I think this is what sets us apart from other families. Nothing has ever been handed to us, and we have been made stronger for this. Our strength is our identity, not this disease.”
The close-knit family, which also includes her brother Nicholis, is weathering the storm together, with Jessica at her parents’ home on a daily basis, helping her mom deal with scheduling doctor’s appointments and other tasks that have become more difficult as Janet’s cognitive problems intensified.
Still, Jessica looks on the bright side, pointing out that her mother’s condition is not as bad as it was early on, when the family essentially had to play charades to figure out what she was trying to communicate.
She said her parents always keep their spirits up in spite of their trials. And she couldn’t wait to share the news with them when she was chosen to serve as this year’s ambassador.
“When I came home with the news, they literally had tears in their eyes,” she said. “They’re proud. It’s really awesome.” They were just as proud and amazed when she first planned to do a Bike MS ride several years back.
“Their mouths dropped open,” Jessica said. “I hadn’t been on a bike since I was 15.”
With some rigorous training alongside her core of teammates — cousin Kristina White of Edison and friend Alicia Cardello of Fords — Jessica has cycled her way to being quite the athlete, completing the 85- mile Coast the Coast ride in May along with her team.
“That was a hard one,” she said.
Another cousin, Danny Reeves of Fords, has rode alongside Jessica in a couple of the events, including the one in May.
The upcoming 25-mile Country Challenge is a special one for Jessica, as she is serving as the public face for the event, giving interviews and a speech to represent the organization with her story.
“I’ll probably be even more emotional than usual when I cross the finish line,” she said.
Along with garnering donations for the ride, Jessica is running a fundraiser by selling nail wraps through Jamberry, a company for which she is a consultant. She has created custom nail wraps for the event, and is donating all her commissions to the National MS Society.
For more information, or to donate or purchase nail wraps, visit Jessica’s personal web page at main.nationalmssociety.org/goto/jessicabills1.
Team JanKel’s Angels has a page on Facebook and at main.nationalmssociety.org/goto/teamjankelsangels.