By Spencer Sterritt

Support, awareness at heart of Nanaimo’s upcoming MS walk

May 25, 2017 | 5:28 PM

NANAIMO — There’s nothing like the support of friends, family and the community when battling a devastating disease.

The annual Scotiabank MS Walk in Nanaimo is Sunday, May 28.

Sheron Chysler with the MS Society said they have consistently hit their fundraising goals over the nearly 20 years the walk has happened in Nanaimo.

She said though raising money for more research into the currently incurable disease is a major priority, raising awareness is just as important.

“People know a little bit about MS, but the general population probably doesn’t know a lot. It affects people in such a wide variety of ways that somebody could have MS and you wouldn’t even know it,” she said.

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Entertainment coordinator Pam Edgar is one such person. Diagnosed back in 1988, she helps with the festival and volunteers at the community radio station CHLY. She’s taken part in the walk almost since it began.

Edgar said it was actually a relief to be diagnosed with MS because at least she knew why her body was suffering.

“I felt like I was moving through water. Every motion took huge effort. To hold a pen was an enormous task. (And) to actually write out a grocery list, I wasn’t accomplishing that. I felt like I had the worst flu without actually being sick.”

Now, she makes a list every day of what she wants to accomplish and then takes a cold, hard look and decides what she can realistically do in a day.

“It’s having to pace my energy and recovery time, because MS can jump up and bite you at any time, like life in general. It’s important for me to always have a little bit extra in my back pocket.”

Unfortunately, her energy reserves have dwindled lately so Edgar is limiting the amount of work she puts into the event this year and will likely only walk a portion of it.

Still, she said the walk and the money it raises will always be near and dear to her heart. She said since the money is going fully into research and the MS Society of Canada is working hard on a cure with organizations around the world, “even a small amount raised (in Nanaimo) has a multiplying, rippling positive effect.”

This year’s goal is $25,000. Edgar said the amount of support they receive and how many people are down at the park fluctuates year to year, often based on how many people with MS have passed away.

The Scotiabank MS Walk gets underway down in Maffeo Sutton Park at 8:30 a.m.

spencer.sterritt@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @spencer_sterrit