Motorcycles and Multiple Sclerosis
By: Liz Gonzales
Updated: January 13, 2013
He began racing at a young age and never stopped.
21 years later, while making a routine drive, his life changed forever.
"I caught myself driving in the wrong lane. "
He went to the hospital and doctors told him he was suffering from multiple sclerosis.
"It was really hard. Because I never had to rely on anybody or anything," says Tharp.
Just like that, his job and racing career were both gone.
"I'm the big bread winner, and I'm not anymore. Can't work, nobody will hire you. And sometimes you wake up and don't even know where you're at. The world is upside down," he explains.
Everything he had ever known was unobtainable and driving was out of the question.
"I was lost. I didn't have a clue what was going to happen in my life."
Then an old family friend came knocking.
"I grew up in this business. And he worked me through junior high, high school. I worked here after school," Tharp says.
Patrick now works at House of Wheels in Brownwood, and it's this place he says brought him back to life.
"Putting motorcycles together and sweeping floors to general manager. My life has done a complete turnaround."
He has even been able to get back on his beloved motorcycles.
"You get to get back on and ride. It reminds you what it's all about."
For Patrick, it's a lesson he will never forget.
"Life is a crazy winding road."
A road he can once again ride on.
