For the estimated 2.3 million people living with multiple sclerosis worldwide, local resident Heather George is fighting for a cure.
The fifth annual McMinnville Multiple Sclerosis Walk is scheduled for next Saturday, Nov. 12, at McMinnville Civic Center gym. Registration will start at 9 a.m., followed by a live auction, then the walk will begin immediately after the auction. The auction will consist of themed baskets, and items donated by businesses and individuals.
George reports last year’s walk raised over $19,000 in the fight to find a cure and raise awareness for MS.
“I believe one day with the money raised during these walks across the nation, a cure will be found to this devastating disease that robs so many of their lives,” said George, who has been living with MS for nine years. “It is a very unpredictable disease and you never know what your next day will be like.”
MS is a disease of the central nervous system which impacts each person in a different way. Symptoms include blurred vision, numbness, tremors, slurred speech, loss of balance, poor coordination, loss of strength, and memory loss, among other physical problems. George says MS attacked her vision first.
“I woke up one morning blind in my left eye,” she said. “Within 24 hours I had been diagnosed with a debilitating disease that even though I am a nurse knew very little about. I started reading all I could about it especially on the National MS Society website and came across the information regarding the MS Walks across the nation. I quickly found out there were walk sites all around McMinnville. My family, friends and I attended walks in Murfreesboro and Nashville. It was a good feeling to be surrounded by people who might not have the same symptoms of you, but were suffering from the same disease. I came home and starting asking around finding many people here in McMinnville and Warren County who had the disease. It was astonishing to me the people I knew who had the disease and I never knew they had it. I started thinking after attending these walks, why couldn’t we have a walk right here in McMinnville?”
McMinnville’s first MS walk raised over $30,000. It has continued to raise thousands of dollars a year ever since.
“It’s OK if you are unable to walk,” said George. “You can still come out and support us. There are many living with MS who will not be able to walk, but will be there to cheer those of us who can walk.”
For more information, George can be reached at (931) 224-7997.