Hi! I’m Linda. I was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS) in 1978 when I was 21 years of age. I had started noticing symptoms of rapidly deteriorating mobility.

Throughout grade school and high school, I found myself taking part in any sport and activity I could; anything from softball and volleyball to swimming and skiing. Physical activity played a very large role in my life.

At the time, there was no magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), the modern standard for MS diagnostics. There was no internet to turn to for answers either. Shortly after the presentation of my symptoms, I underwent a spinal tap procedure and thereafter received a diagnosis from a neurologist who told me I had a “degenerative, neurological disorder with no cure”.

Overwhelmed, in the midst of a massive life change, I had no idea what my future held. I had just transferred to a 4-year college and wanted to finish my degree, but the plan I had envisioned for myself was no longer viable due to physical limitations.

Adamant on finishing school, I changed my degree, and re-vectored my life and career path. I graduated with my degree in 1980, thanks in part to my trusty bicycle which got me to class when my legs would not work.

After several years of heeding my doctors’ advice of “don’t do too much, you’ll make yourself worse”, I could barely walk. Inactivity left me weak and reliant on a cane or wheelchair. On my wedding day in 1982, I needed the assistance of my father to walk down the aisle and had to sit during my ceremony. I quickly grew tired of being a victim to my MS.

After reading a magazine article about a woman with MS who had found swimming helped her symptoms, I decided to give swimming a try.

Using fins, I started simply with what I could do: swimming two laps. Eventually I worked up to swimming a mile at a time, an achievement I felt impossible at the time of my diagnosis. To this day, I continue to swim regularly, as it has been the physical therapy that has allowed me to have a relatively “normal” life.

Through the years, my swimming has given me the health and strength to raise two children, resume skiing, travel without a wheelchair, and to play Pickleball with my husband.

Now, 45 years later, I’m participating in my first fundraiser for MS.

“Can Do MS” was founded by Jimmie Heuga in 1984. A former Olympic bronze-medal downhill skier, he was diagnosed at age 26 with multiple sclerosis. Advised against exercise, he found that exercise provided him the “Can Do” outlook to improve his life, living with MS.

The mission of “Can Do MS” is to provide health and wellness education programs to people living with MS and their families.

Will you join me on this journey with a donation? 100% of every dollar raised goes directly to work, providing free resources and programs that help people living with MS and their loved ones thrive.

Team "LS for MS" will include family and friends who will be participating in the “Ski for MS’ Challenge at Palisades Tahoe, CA on March 23, 2024.