March Is National MS Education & Awareness Month
As you know Raymond and I are participating in the BP MS-150 in April. This past weekend we rode our team’s (Team Shell) annual ride. Before we started the ride our team leader had one of our team members speak to all of us. I don’t know her name and I don’t know how old she is… she looked very very young as I am sure she is…
Our team member started to tell us that she was diagnosed with MS in December and it has been an uphill battle for her everyday. She was holding back tears but you could hear the pain in her voice as she went to tell us how much she appreciated all of us participating in the ride and raising money. She said that because of all the donations through out the years the MS society has set up a 24 hr hot line for patients to call and get support, which she said she appreciates and calls often as this is all new to her and she is scared.
Listening to her as she spoke about her diagnosis and hearing the pain in her voice teared me up… as I went through my rides this weekend I reminded myself that even though the wind is killing me… or that I am tired… or hungry… all of that is nothing compared to all the battles my teammate is going to go through and I made it my goal to finish every mile.
Here are some facts about MS:
- MS is usually diagnosed between the ages of 20 and 50, with a risk in the general population of approximately 1/750.
- Two hundred people are diagnosed with MS every week and more than 2.5 million people are living with this disease worldwide.
- Like other autoimmune diseases, MS is more common in women than men.
- The most common symptoms associated with MS include visual disturbances, balance and walking difficulties, debilitating fatigue, weakness, numbness, and bladder dysfunction.
- While there is currently no cure for MS, there is a great deal a person can do to manage the disease and maintain their quality of life. The best place to start is with reliable information about MS.
Now that you now some of the facts about MS I need you to help me raise awareness about MS this month. Our blogs are very powerful and we all get hundreds of readers every day. Take a minute this month and help me spread the word.
To help us (Raymond and I) with our fundraising goals the wonderful people at Klean Kanteen have donated 2 bottles that I will be raffling here during the month of March.
About Klean Kanteen:
Toxin-free materials
100% stainless environment
Fair labor standards
Refill, reuse, reduce
Eco-friendly & Recycleable
BPA Free Caps
Here is how the raffle will work:
DONATE $1 to either Raymond or My fundraising page and leave me a comment telling me you have made your donation.
If you choose to donate more than $1 you can gain an entry per $ up to 5 entries for the raffle which means if you donate $20 you still get 5 entries, but if you donate $2, $3, $4 & $5 you get 2, 3, 4, 5 entries respectively
Gelareh’s Fundraising Page
Raymond’s Fundraising Page
I would really appreciate it if you spread the word via your blog, email, twitter, facebook or any other means. Help me make this a successful Fundraiser.
Please NOTE that you do not have to have a blog to participate in this fundraiser!
I will select two winners on Wednesday March 31 using random generator!
~ G
What a wonderful post! Two very good family friends are living with MS and I know that they are always so incredibly appreciative of everyone who participates in these fundraisers!
Thank you for all this great information…I really didn’t know much about MS. It really is such a horrible disease and how brave of your team member to compete with such a challenge!
omg such a powerful story about your teammate. i will donate soon, tonight i am blogging for a few more mins and then i need to STUDY, but i will!!
thanks for the info- what a tragic disease
but a great cause!
We are a KK household and love them. Great cause and awareness you have going
MS is such a horrible horrible disease – it always makes me to sad when I hear of people who have it.
It’s great that you make people aware of it!
Thanks so much for this info. I do a check-in on a workout forum with an amazing and inspiring lady with MS.
My wonderful doctor, who is just a few years older than me and followed me for my three pregnancies, was diagnosed about ten years ago and it makes me so sad to see her struggling with this disease. I will definitely donate for your race!
this was great to read about…i didn’t realize that most people were diagnosed from 20-50! kinda scary when you think about it…
M S is so scary…..thank you for the info. I will definitely donate!
i just tried to donate but it won’t process my info……
MS is so scary…this is awesome!
My grandmother has MS and it is very very serious. I’ve watched her health decrease over the years and she can’t even take care of herself anymore. Things like going to the bathroom by herself are not an option anymore. She has always been optimistic though. She kept a journal every day of her symptoms and how she felt and that helped her greatly. It helped her know what medications were working for her and what wasn’t and she actually had better luck with non-traditional medicine rather than subscriptions that doctor’s would shell out to her all the time. It’s so good to help out any way you can..
My grandma was diagnosed with MS my last year of undergrad. I now live 1,000 miles away, but I run every race with her in mind. Thank you for spreading awareness, I will be linking to your blog post.
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[...] Please click here to learn more information about MS and spread the awareness! Big thanks to all those who rode and volunteered in the MS 150! [...]