Sunday, March 20, 2011

Wildcard Weekend: MS and Running

I followed a link on my facebook to this site: http://www.moresquirrel.blogspot.com/, and was tearing up by the end of the first paragraph. It is a blog written by a marathon runner with Multiple Sclerosis (some literature), and although you hear often about the run for MS, it rarely takes the same emotional root as it does when you hear someone's life story. Perhaps it affected me more deeply since I am the age he was when he was diagnosed  with this disease that slowly paralyzes him by eroding tiny holes in his brain and spinal column. His writing is very accessible, and occasionally poetic, but he approaches his medical challenges with good humor, grace, and strength.  

He lives in North Vancouver, and includes some details about running trails in that area, as well as reviews of running shoes, but I hope he inspires everyone to run, even just a little bit, since it really is a gift. I hope to include more running inspiration on the weekends, and perhaps run my own marathon sometime.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

We need more PUN-DITS !

And just in case you think that I am just full of hot air, I PROVIDE THE PROOF HERE.


I would love to hear from you.

Anonymous said...

Hey lady...

Glad to hear you checked out the link. I put it up as a bit of encouragement for my sister; she was diagnosed with MS about a year ago. At that time, she had been actively training for her second kickboxing tournament. Within a week, her muscle deterioration was severe enough that she was kept in hospital as a choking risk. To go from actively kicking butt to being challenged by soft foods… uh, anything I can say here won't convey what I mean without being trite so I’m just going to move on.

Anyway, the weird thing about MS is how varied your physical capability can be. Some people have very limited mobility and some, like the guy in the blog, still run marathons. My sister's mobiltiy seems to vary: some days, she needs a wheelchair while other days she just requires a cane.

And yeah, seeing her functioning and reading this guy's blog makes me grateful for my movement.

And he lives in my area, which is a nice bonus, too.