By Robin L. Gardner | Independent Tribune
Published: April 9, 2010
CONCORD – As the saying goes, ” when someone hands you lemons, you make lemonade.”
Simply put, you make do with what you’ve been given.
Cabarrus County Deputy Sheriff David Allred, 43, was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis 13 years ago.
This weekend, he will once again prove that the diagnosis won’t define his life as he runs the Charlotte RaceFest Half Marathon & 10K.
MS is a chronic, often disabling disease that attacks the central nervous system, including the brain, spinal cord and optic nerves.
Symptoms of MS may be mild, such as numbness in the limbs, or severe, such as paralysis or loss of vision.
Last spring, Allred attempted something he has worked towards since his diagnosis, the Ford Ironman — a 2.4-mile swim, 112-mile bike ride and a complete marathon of 26.2 miles — in Lake Placed, N.Y.
“When you look at what can happen with MS, there were things I wanted to do, and the day may come when I can’t. It may or may not,” Allred said. “When I was diagnosed, the doctor said, ‘you may go 20 years and have no problems or you may go 20 minutes and have a problem.’ You just don’t know.”
So he decided it was time to “start doing things,” beginning to train and try to get physically fit. His friends pushed him to run, bike and swim.
“It just kind of grew from one thing to another,” Allred said. “There was a lot of help from my wife Julie and my daughter.”
Training for events like marathons, of which he has done several, and half-ironman events is very time consuming. An early morning swim at 5 a.m., a run at lunch and then a long bike ride after work can eat up a lot of family time, but Allred is thankful for his family’s support.
“It’s a big sacrifice, but they are both very supportive, and my wife helps monitor everything,” Allred said. “Sometimes I don’t notice if I’m a little too fatigued, but she has to live with me so she picks up on it.”
Though training can be difficult, Allred said sometimes “he just makes his mind up” to persevere.
“When it’s really, really hot, sometimes it makes me a little bit dizzy, but not to bad,” Allred said.
He controls the dizziness with cool water.
The treatment for his MS includes the drug Avonex. It is a shot his wife, who is a nurse, administers, and has worked very well for him.