Riding For Those Who Can't...Yet

In February, 2006, Steve Morris was about to have his world turned upside down! What he thought was a bad case of the flu turned out to be an extremely rare form of myositis called Giant Cell Myositis. This is a disease that affects 50,000 people in the United States and Steve's type of myositis is even rarer than that. So rare in fact, that when you google "giant cell myositis", you only get one hit! The disease basically has your immune system attacking itself. In Steve's case, his immune system began attacking his good muscle tissue in his legs, making it extremely difficult to walk. After spending six days in the hospital, Steve went home to a whole new world! For the next six months, Steve would no longer be in the classroom teaching. He would remain housebound to the lower level of his home for the next several months because the doctors would not let him drive his car or ride his beloved Harley. He began getting around with the use of a wheelchair because his legs had become too weak to walk for more than ten minutes. The next several months saw Steve go from using a wheelchair to using a walker to riding his Harley with a cane strapped to the side. Today, Steve is in "remission" and can now walk without the aid of any kind and enjoying the freedom that that brings.