Still Walking for MS!

People are still walking and rolling to end MS!

The MS Walk will take place in Sault Ste. Marie this Sunday, May 3rd. And depending on where you live, join us on May 24th for MS Walks in Belleville, Brockville, Kingston, Napanee, North Bay, and Sudbury.

Whether you are taking part in an upcoming MS Walk, or continuing to raise pledges from the April 19th events (there are three weeks left to fundraise and earn prizes), thank you for making a difference in the lives of people with multiple sclerosis.

MS Walk in the News!

This year’s MS Walk benefited from great media coverage all across the province! In communities large and small, the event was featured in newspapers, on radio programs, and on TV newscasts. It’s proof of what we already knew … that the MS Walk - and the need to end this disease - is important news.

Check out this front page photo from Monday’s Metro Toronto newspaper, which has a readership of 300,000 people!

Thanks again to everyone who took part in an MS Walk on April 19th. Let us know how the day went for you!

We Did It!!

What a day we had Sunday!

I was in great company as I joined thousands of people in Sunnybrook Park to walk to end MS.
It was a festive hubbub of both mankind and beast, all united in mind and mission. Participants came in all shapes and sizes with various accoutrements: strollers, wheelchairs, wagons, walkers, water bottles, juice boxes, canes, and scooters. From moms and dads, to children, to grandmothers and grandfathers, to dogs of all sizes, and to friends – they were all there, ready to walk and roll.

Despite battling a cantankerous chest cold, I walked ten kilometres, with the help of warm sunshine on my face and glorious deep blue skies above me. By my calculations, I took 12,000 steps – give or take. :) I was prepared for a difficult night MS-wise but other than some stiffness, I have experienced no increase in MS symptoms.

I am reminded that Sunday wasn’t just about a walk in a park. Because of the generosity of sponsors and volunteers, of family and friends, and of the tremendous outpouring of donations, the walk – every step, in fact – was a statement – a huge affirmation that we will end MS.

I’m registered already to walk in 2010.

Every step matters.

Barbara Dickson

MS Walk Success!

Every step mattered yesterday as the MS Walks took place in 50 communities across Ontario. An estimated 21,000 people took part, walking and rolling with family, friends, or colleagues, all united in the commitment to end MS. When all the pledges were turned in, almost $5 million had been raised! Check the results of your local community here.

“The success of the MS Walk is due to the commitment of communities across Ontario,” said Yves Savoie, President and Chief Executive Officer of the MS Society of Canada and President of the MS Society’s Ontario Division, who fundraises and takes part in the event. “In these difficult economic times, we are particularly grateful to our participants, donors, sponsors, and volunteers for their ongoing support.”

Don’t forget that there are still have four weeks to raise pledges – and earn prizes. And depending on where you live, join us at upcoming MS Walks in May, taking place in Belleville, Brockville, Kingston, Napanee, North Bay, Sault Ste. Marie, and Sudbury. Register at www.mswalks.ca.

We Will Win the Fight Against MS

I find it hard to believe that we only have two more sleeps until we lace up our sneakers and walk to end MS. These weeks have passed at lightning speed; almost as fast as the twenty-five years since my first child was born.

I’m pumped. While I’ve spent many years behind the scenes at the annual MS walks – helping in registration, setting up, and meeting and cheering the hundreds of walkers – I haven’t walked ten kilometres in close to a decade. My MS has progressed, marching along with the passing years. My mind – the doubting Thomas part – wonders if I’ll make it. It wonders if the MS will win and stop me mid-stride.

Of course, the optimist in me knows otherwise. It knows I will succeed. I will overcome any obstacles MS may throw in my path along the route in Sunnybrook Park. Whether it’s fatigue, unsteadiness, vertigo, numbness, or an assortment of other gloomy MS symptoms, nothing can compete against the resolve of the human spirit.

And I’m resolved – to take that first step, and the second, and the fifty thousandth; as many as it takes. I will overcome. I will persevere. I will walk past that Finish sign with my heart held high.

And if I don’t? The doubting Thomas will try to hand me an ‘I told you so.’ But the optimist in me will win yet again. I will congratulate myself for trying...for walking as far as my body would allow me...for raising money to fund vital MS research...

...for research that will put an end to MS.

And when that wonderful day comes, we will walk and run again! Ten kilometres will be a walk in the park and a romp on the beach.

We will win the fight against MS.

It’s time to walk and roll!