Contact: Claire Gordy, claire.gordy@duke.edu
Sponsor: GPSC Community Service
Where: RBC Center - exact location will be sent to those who sign up
Why:
As part of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society's Triangle Walk MS, we will be helping Project Imagine build modular wheelchair ramps for MS patients. These ramps provide MS patients with a sense of independence by making it possible for them to enter and exit their homes. No construction experience is necessary - just come ready to work! We will be working in three shifts: 8-10 AM, 10 AM-12 PM, and 12-2 PM, so you even have time to take part in the 1, 3, and 5.5 mile walks or 8k race in the morning, and still build ramps in the afternoon! To sign up for ramp building, contact Claire Gordy at claire.gordy@duke.edu. To sign up to walk or run, visit http://walknct.nationalmssociety.org/site/TR?fr_id=7610&pg=entry before May 1.
Multiple sclerosis is a progressive autoimmune disease affecting the nervous system for which there is no cure. About 400,000 people in the US, and 4,200 in Eastern North Carolina are living with this disease, which causes symptoms from numbness, fatigue, and slurred speech to cognitive defects, blindness, and paralysis. It is most commonly diagnosed in women between the ages of 20 and 50, but can affect people of any race, gender, or age. Treatment for MS has been vastly improved over the past 15-20 years, and the disease is now rarely fatal; however, even with disease-modifying therapies, MS can result in shortened life expectancy. Not all patients are able to afford these therapies, which can cost anywhere between $1500-$5000 per month, and often come with serious side effects. In addition to the cost of medication, many MS patients must find a way to pay for numerous neurologist visits, MRIs, spinal taps, assistive equipment such as wheelchairs and walkers, and personal caregivers. The difficulty in paying for all of these things is often compounded by the fact that many MS patients are unable to work due to disability.
The National Multiple Sclerosis Society provides information and referrals, financial assistance, assistive equipment, or just someone to talk to who understands what MS patients are going through. In addition, funds raised through events like Walk MS, the MS 150, and the MS Challenge Walk are used to fund research aimed at better understanding the cause of MS as well as developing more effective treatments, and even a cure.
For more information about the local chapter of the NMSS, visit http://nct.nationalmssociety.org/site/PageServer?pagename=NCT_homepage. For more information about Project Imagine, visit http://www.ifuimagine.org/index.html.