Help Me Carve Out a Difference!
I'm thrilled to be a part of the SKI for MS Vertical Challenge at Palisades Tahoe this year! Together, we'll play a friendly game of which cousin can make it down home run the fastest, straight line chute 75, and, most importantly, raise vital funds for Can Do MS and the multiple sclerosis community. For those who don't know, my mom was diagnosed with MS 46 years ago.
She was extremely active in her youth, ruthlessly competing in every sport offered to girls her age - from softball to volleyball to very long, possibly dangerous floats in the ocean. As she got into her older teens, she noticed her mobility declining more than what was normal of the people her age. Due to the lack of technology, it took years and many doctors to get the final diagnosis.
My mom was told she would miss out on a lot of what life would have to offer - from having kids, finishing her degree, and even to walking down an aisle with a man she had only recently met and would one day turn out to be her husband of 140 some-odd years and my father. If you know Linda, you know that being told this did not go over well and that she decided differently.
She was extremely active in her youth, ruthlessly competing in every sport offered to girls her age - from softball to volleyball to very long, possibly dangerous floats in the ocean. As she got into her older teens, she noticed her mobility declining more than what was normal of the people her age. Due to the lack of technology, it took years and many doctors to get the final diagnosis.
My mom was told she would miss out on a lot of what life would have to offer - from having kids, finishing her degree, and even to walking down an aisle with a man she had only recently met and would one day turn out to be her husband of 140 some-odd years and my father. If you know Linda, you know that being told this did not go over well and that she decided differently.
She started building up her strength after reading a magazine article about a woman with MS who had found swimming helped her symptoms, she turned to swimming. The first day was only two laps, powered by fins. Over time she was able to slowly build up more, becoming strong enough to keep her wheelchair and cane in storage. This number grew slowly until she built up the strength to do her 72 laps, the same exact workout she does almost every day, some 40 years later. These days, my mom gets in a very solid 15-20 days of skiing, in between her swimming and Pickle ball events. Over the last couple years, my dad had to get double knee surgeries simply to keep up with his active wife.
My mom is a reminder that not all disabilities are seen. You may look at her and see a very active lady who gets a little tired sometimes but seems very able-bodied otherwise. The truth is she has worked very hard to be able to move the way she moves, and she enjoys every minute. Not everyone with MS is as blessed to have the life she leads or have the mobile lifestyle she does. And so in honor of that, this year she's recruited our family to do Ski for MS, in honor of her diagnosis 45 years ago, so that she can help those who have had that same diagnosis.
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.
Together, we can change lives.