MS walk 2019
For me the MS walk required 3 big steps, most of which happens before May 5 the actual MS walk.
I have been considering walking in the MS walk for many years. Thought about it and not done it. This year was the year I finally managed to do it. It represented a number of big steps for me.
MS is actually a common disease in Manitoba, 2.6 people per 1000 Canadians are living with MS. About 11 Canadians are diagnosed with MS every day. There are about 3 women diagnosed for every man diagnosed.
MS effects the nerves and because nerves run your whole body it can effect any thing.
There is a lining on the nerves called myelin. It’s kind of like insulation. My illustration is to imagine a hose of water. It’s supposed to trigger all these sprinklers to do stuff…….. water doesn’t get there or if it does it doesn’t do what it should. Fixing the hose/myelin is not possible so Now if one can you increase the power to the pump and get the water/message there. But now you are using up your fuel/energy too fast and the pump probably cant or shouldn’t run at that speed for very long
All nerve messages can be effected and all nerve messages take extra energy to send.
And just to make everything more complicated MS likes to get worse and better and a bit worse at random intervals although likely always getting some worse.
This is me at the MS walk holding a sign that identifies me as having MS. Getting to this point was a very big step for me and it took years to get to it.
I was diagnosed is 2001. My arm fell asleep and stayed asleep for a year. I was always tired but I had a baby and 3 young children – who isn’t tired? I had a few other symptoms. I told my husband. We told the children several months later. It didn’t matter to them. I was mom and mom is mom.
I debated about telling anyone else. I did not want to be identified as someone with MS and as everyone says – no that there’s anything wrong with that – but I thought peoples perceptions might change. I didn’t want anyone to make exceptions for me.
I did my best to do everything I should do. I work full time. I parented and was a hockey, dance and soccer mom, all at the same time. I volunteered at church. This wasn’t to prove anything, its just who I am.
I slowly admitted MS was enough of my life to start telling a few people. Our best friends knew. We told my parents then some other family.
I told my principal I needed a day off for an appointment at the MS clinic – it wasn’t a slip of the tongue. I meant for him to know.
Even telling people close to me has been difficult.
Posting on my Facebook page and asking for donations to the MS walk was a big step. I sent an email to the staff asking for donations with a bit of my MS story. Even though I am only working 2 half days a week for medical reasons many of the people I work with didn’t know I have MS. I finally was letting whoever-know. Even at the MS walk I didn’t really want to pick up the sign that said I have MS. It was hard for me but I did it.
One of the biggest steps the walk held for me was publicly identifying myself as a person who has MS.
The second big step for me was asking for support. I’m not a person who assumes people like me. I hope they do. I really want to be liked but I know I’m not. I thought if I asked maybe my husband and children would walk with me. They all agreed, a few were reluctant. I told my sister I was planning to do the walk, she said she would walk with me. Now I have 4 sisters and asking one of them to do something big without asking the others can be a big deal so I asked my other sisters. I have 4 sisters. Another sister said she and her children would walk with me – Ok hold on in the name of fairness I need to ask my other nieces and nephews. That was hard for me – they are all busy people with families of their own. I wrote and rewrote a email to them. Kind of a hey I’m doing this but don’t put your self to any trouble about it. 11 of my nieces and nephews walked with us. All of my sisters families were represented. Friends joined in too.
In the end Karen’s Crew was 30 people. Wow! I felt support I had never know for myself and for my struggles with MS. We raised $6 515 for MS research. Step 2 asking for and accepting support .CHECK
Step 3 took a lot less out of me but was important. I found a get ready for your 5k walk site. It seemed reasonable. I began to walk. 2 weeks before the MS walk I did a practice 5k. I was tired but I knew I could do it.
On May 5 Karen’s Crew gathered at the Forks Stage. We took a group photo with me holding the sign identified get me as having MS. We walked and laughed and had lunch together. The MS walk was great. The steps I took to get there were huge.
For me the MS walk required 3 big steps, most of which happens before May 5 the actual MS walk.
I have been considering walking in the MS walk for many years. Thought about it and not done it. This year was the year I finally managed to do it. It represented a number of big steps for me.
MS is actually a common disease in Manitoba, 2.6 people per 1000 Canadians are living with MS. About 11 Canadians are diagnosed with MS every day. There are about 3 women diagnosed for every man diagnosed.
MS effects the nerves and because nerves run your whole body it can effect any thing.
There is a lining on the nerves called myelin. It’s kind of like insulation. My illustration is to imagine a hose of water. It’s supposed to trigger all these sprinklers to do stuff…….. water doesn’t get there or if it does it doesn’t do what it should. Fixing the hose/myelin is not possible so Now if one can you increase the power to the pump and get the water/message there. But now you are using up your fuel/energy too fast and the pump probably cant or shouldn’t run at that speed for very long
All nerve messages can be effected and all nerve messages take extra energy to send.
And just to make everything more complicated MS likes to get worse and better and a bit worse at random intervals although likely always getting some worse.
This is me at the MS walk holding a sign that identifies me as having MS. Getting to this point was a very big step for me and it took years to get to it.
I was diagnosed is 2001. My arm fell asleep and stayed asleep for a year. I was always tired but I had a baby and 3 young children – who isn’t tired? I had a few other symptoms. I told my husband. We told the children several months later. It didn’t matter to them. I was mom and mom is mom.
I debated about telling anyone else. I did not want to be identified as someone with MS and as everyone says – no that there’s anything wrong with that – but I thought peoples perceptions might change. I didn’t want anyone to make exceptions for me.
I did my best to do everything I should do. I work full time. I parented and was a hockey, dance and soccer mom, all at the same time. I volunteered at church. This wasn’t to prove anything, its just who I am.
I slowly admitted MS was enough of my life to start telling a few people. Our best friends knew. We told my parents then some other family.
I told my principal I needed a day off for an appointment at the MS clinic – it wasn’t a slip of the tongue. I meant for him to know.
Even telling people close to me has been difficult.
Posting on my Facebook page and asking for donations to the MS walk was a big step. I sent an email to the staff asking for donations with a bit of my MS story. Even though I am only working 2 half days a week for medical reasons many of the people I work with didn’t know I have MS. I finally was letting whoever-know. Even at the MS walk I didn’t really want to pick up the sign that said I have MS. It was hard for me but I did it.
One of the biggest steps the walk held for me was publicly identifying myself as a person who has MS.
The second big step for me was asking for support. I’m not a person who assumes people like me. I hope they do. I really want to be liked but I know I’m not. I thought if I asked maybe my husband and children would walk with me. They all agreed, a few were reluctant. I told my sister I was planning to do the walk, she said she would walk with me. Now I have 4 sisters and asking one of them to do something big without asking the others can be a big deal so I asked my other sisters. I have 4 sisters. Another sister said she and her children would walk with me – Ok hold on in the name of fairness I need to ask my other nieces and nephews. That was hard for me – they are all busy people with families of their own. I wrote and rewrote a email to them. Kind of a hey I’m doing this but don’t put your self to any trouble about it. 11 of my nieces and nephews walked with us. All of my sisters families were represented. Friends joined in too.
In the end Karen’s Crew was 30 people. Wow! I felt support I had never know for myself and for my struggles with MS. We raised $6 515 for MS research. Step 2 asking for and accepting support .CHECK
Step 3 took a lot less out of me but was important. I found a get ready for your 5k walk site. It seemed reasonable. I began to walk. 2 weeks before the MS walk I did a practice 5k. I was tired but I knew I could do it.
On May 5 Karen’s Crew gathered at the Forks Stage. We took a group photo with me holding the sign identified get me as having MS. We walked and laughed and had lunch together. The MS walk was great. The steps I took to get there were huge.
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