As Liz and I finished the MS Walk today at the Rose Bowl, I noticed that a young man, whom I had seen in a scooter earlier, had picked up his cane, and gingerly walked through the finish line and received his medal.
As Sherry always said, MS is a crappy disease. MS stands for multiple sclerosis. It is a chronic, often disabling disease that attacks the central nervous system. Symptoms may be mild, such as numbness in the limbs, or severe, such as paralysis or loss of vision. “The progress, severity, and specific symptoms of MS are unpredictable and vary from one person to another.”
The National MS Society goes on to note, “Today, new treatments and advances in research are giving new hope to people affected by the disease.”
Living with MS takes a lot of strength. You never know when new symptoms will emerge, or side effects from one of the common injectible drugs will knock you for a loop. Fortunately, people diagnosed more recently are benefitting from drugs that weren’t available even five years to ten years ago. Research has now found that exercise is good for people with MS.
Several years ago, Sherry participated in a t-cell trial at USC, where MS researchers were hoping to use the patient’s own t-cells to create a vaccine specific to them. This was not an easy process, but Sherry was willing to be one of the “guinea pigs” in the trial, if not for her, but for others’ benefit later on. Unfortunately, the trial was not a success, and had to be stopped short, but Sherry’s willingness to participate showed strength that I (and many others) admired.
Today we raised close to $2800 for the MS Walk. These much needed funds will make a true difference for individuals and their families and loved ones living each day with MS.
