Today I want to share the story of one of our top 2023 Sydney MS Walk Run + Roll fundraisers. She’s climbing the leaderboard fast! ?
Meet Renee.
She’s already smashing her fundraising target of $250 with an incredible $2,095 raised so far (and counting!) ?
For Renee, the MS Walk Run + Roll is important to her, her family and friends.
“This is the first year of my diagnosis. There’s 30 of us doing it. All of our family and extended family, my girlfriends and their families are coming along.”
“A year and a half ago when my first child, my son, was 8 months old I woke up one morning and the right side of my body from my neck down was completely numb and had gone quite weak. I couldn’t feel him breastfeeding and thought something is wrong here.”
“I went to hospital that day – my first time away from my son – I was in hospital for a week and it was so hard.”
“At that point, they found one lesion on my spine and there were no other lesions so they couldn’t make the diagnosis of MS.”
“Six months later I fell pregnant so they were unable to do more MRIs at that time.”
Then, in 2022, after Renee had her daughter, she had a routine MRI.
“They found 3 new lesions on my brain.”
For Renee, the diagnosis of multiple sclerosis disrupted her life.
“My daughter was 3 months old and I was also breastfeeding her so I had to stop. It took us 8 weeks to get her off breastfeeding so I could start treatment.”
“It was a very tricky time. It was quite a traumatic time.”
Her steroid treatment and monthly infusions are working now and her symptoms of numbness have since subsided over the six months following. Her neurologist is confident her treatment will prevent any new lesions.
“We got through it and I have an amazing neurologist – I have so much trust in him.”
“The diagnosis is not what it used to be. It took me time to come to terms with that as well.”
Thanks to treatment Renee is now currently symptom-free.
To her fellow fundraisers, Renee has a message:
“Keep going. It’s so important to keep allowing the funding for these ongoing services.”
“Having that support network and services available to people is so important. I’ve got an amazing support network and not everyone has that.”
That’s why we are all here. Together, making sure no one faces MS alone.
It’s through your fundraising that we can continue programs like Plus Connect, our free helpline for people living with MS, their family and carers to get information and support, as well as Plus Peer Support Groups, providing connection in-person, by phone and online. And that’s only two of the many services your fundraising makes possible.
By taking part in the 2023 MS Walk Run + Roll you’re helping people live well with MS while the search for a cure continues.
