I need sponsors! It's for a very worthy cause. MS affects many people. Chances are that you already know someone, a friend, a relative, or neighbor that has the dreaded disease. You could make a donation, on their behalf. Most people know very little about Multiple Sclerosis . I knew very little about the disease, until I was diagnosed in May 2000. I knew that it wasn't a good thing, but I didn't have a clue as to what it was, or how it attacks your body. I learned very quickly, through my neurologist,
publications, and the internet. I read everything I could get my hands on, and absorbed it like a sponge.
MS is a disease that attacks your central nervous system. For reasons unknown, your immune system begans to see the protective tissue surrounding your nerves, known as myelin, as "the enemy." Myelin is much like the insulation surrounding an electrical wire. The immune system continues to eat away at the myelin, until the nerve is exposed. The exposed nerve(s) then began to "short", or divert messages to the wrong parts of the body. The real problem begans when the nerve starts to repair itself, and starts building scar tissue. Signals that normally travel from the brain to the many parts of your body, are blocked, or sent in the wrong direction, when they meet the scar tissue. This is what causes the severe numbing, malfunction, loss of use, and problems with balance & coordination, with various parts of your body. It affects everyone differently, depending on which nerves are attacked. It can affect your sight, hearing, taste, your ability to walk, talk, swallow, ect.
I'll never forget that Sunday morning, when I got out of bed, showered, and began to shave. I noticed the left side of my face was numb, but I figured it was just from sleeping hard. Later in the day, I noticed that the numbness was still there, and was getting worse. Over the next few days, the numbness started to travel down my neck, into my shoulder, and down my arm. I slowly began to lose coordination, in my arm and hand, and it got to the point that I couldn't tie my shoes, or button my shirt. My wife begged me to go to a doctor and have it checked out. My boss said that I had the symptoms of a stroke! Well, that got my attention! I went to a doctor, and after asking a few questions, he had me to close my eyes, extend my arm and finger straight out to one side, and try to touch my nose (much like a sobriety test). I didn't even come close! The doctor said "holy s**t, there's something going on, inside your body. He then sent me to a specialist, for MRI's, and I was then sent to a neurologist, with the MRI results. The MRI's showed lesions, in the brain, and one where joins the spinal cord. After perfoming a spinal tap, and blood test, my neurologist confirmed that I had Mutilple Sclerosis. I was immediately placed on Solu Medro, which was administered intraveneously, once a day, for five days. I was then trained on how to give myself Betaseron injections, every other day. I've been on them now, for seven years.
Down through the years, I've suffered several attacks, which have affected my arms, hands, speach, mobility, and short term memory. Chronic fatigue is another problem I have. Chronic fatigue affects every MS patient, and it's something that we're constantly battling. Being a very active person, it was hard to deal with, but, I decided that it wasn't going to defeat me.I looked at it as a new challenge. I decided I was going to do everything I could, to take care of myself. I started to eat healthier, and exercise. The continued use of Betaseron has helped to lessen the severity of the disease, and getting plenty of sleep, and knowing my limitations has also helped. I'm happy to say that my condition has improved, in the last two years, and I can walk without the aid of my quad cane. I'm able to once again ride a bike, which wasn't possible for several years. The Betaseron that I'm taking, and many other medications, that were developed for MS, exist because of research. That research was made possible by donations made through charity drives like the MS Tour to Tanglewood, and many other events. Your donations are what keeps the research going for new medications, and a possible cure.
Sorry for the long post, but I wanted to stress how important your donations are. It doesn't matter how great or small the donation is, it WILL make a difference. Thanks, for listening. If you want to sponsor me, in the Tour to Tanglewood, and make a donation, here's the link to my page:
http://www.nationalmssociety.org/sit...0&s_tafId=8371
Thanks, Mike