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Bob writes:
Many area residents of all ages and their families are battling multiple sclerosis. And you can join the battle.
During September and October, several National Multiple Sclerosis Society events will be happening. Local residents will be walking, riding and eating to raise money to help defeat MS. They invite you to join them at any of these upcoming events or support them with a donation.
MS is a chronic, often disabling, disease that attacks the central nervous system (brain and spinal cord). Symptoms can be mild, such as numbness in the limbs, or severe, such as paralysis or loss of vision.
The progress, severity and specific symptoms of MS vary among individuals and are unpredictable. Today, new treatments and advances in research are giving hope to many affected by this disease.
The society is the world's largest private funder of MS research. The Mid-Atlantic Chapter also provides programs and services to South Carolinians living with MS.
Lowcountry residents are participating in four events to help fund research toward better treatments and a better quality of life for their friends and family members battling the disease. Some new research is aimed at reversing the accumulated damage of MS attacks. The goal is a cure.
• From Sept. 10-12, Joe O'Rourke of Bluffton will take his bicycle to Callaway Gardens in Georgia. He will ride for Josh Aragon, the son of Lindy and Leon Aragon. Leon is one of Joe's tennis partners. Josh grew up on Hilton Head Island, played high school baseball and went to play for Rutgers University-Newark. Near the end of his college baseball career, MS struck.
Today, Josh, who is in his early 30s, runs his own business. He tries to stave off the assaults on his body with a potent disease-modifying medication, approved to reduce the severity of his symptoms. However, this recently approved medication comes with a "black box" warning, indicating serious side effects. Josh and his family hope that new and less dangerous medications will stop or reverse the accumulated disability caused by his MS. He plans to continue to lead a quality and productive life.
To support Joe in the Cox Atlanta Ride, go to www.bikems
georgia.org. Click on "Donate Now" and enter Joe's name.
• On Sept. 13, join others eating to beat MS at Jim 'N Nick's Barbecue in Bluffton between 5 and 9 p.m. Drop your receipt in a designated box and 10 percent of your bill will go to the National MS Society.
• From Sept. 25-26, Linda Warnock and Larry Meyers of Hilton Head Island will ride their bikes 125 miles from Columbia to the coast at Sunset Beach, N.C. This "Breakaway to the Beach" ride is Linda's sixth annual ride to support her sister, Sharon Rubin, and 22 others suffering from MS. Larry's fourth ride will honor his cousin Daryl Clarke. Their previous rides have ranged from central Florida to the ocean along A1A and on to the hills of the South Carolina Upstate.
The rides are a physical challenge, but Linda and Larry know they'll soon recover and be moving about again. That is not the same for the MS patients for whom they ride.
Go to Linda's website at http://main.nationalmssociety.org/goto/Linda_Warnock to learn more and make a donation. You also can donate to her efforts by sending a check made payable to the National MS Society to Linda Warnock at 5 Pineland Road, Hilton Head Island, SC 29926.
For more information, contact Lindy and Leon Aragon at 843-706-2102 or Bob Hunter at 843-705-4434.
• On Oct. 9, 15-year-old Contessa Torin and her mother, Deiha, will lead the Hilton Head MS Walk. Participants will walk or ride their scooters around the lake at Jarvis Creek Park.
Contessa had her first MS attack when she was 3 and was diagnosed at age 10.
The National MS Society is funding pediatric centers to help young people with MS, while educating them about the beginnings of MS.
The Oct. 9 festivities will begin at 5 p.m. with food, followed by a one- to five-mile walk around the lake. It will end with a candlelight ceremony. Join your friends to eat, walk and meet people dedicated to defeating this challenging disease. Form a walk team, join an existing team, walk as an individual, ask your friends to support your walk with a donation -- or just come to eat and show your support. For more information, contact Deiha Torin at 843-342-3585.
With your help, research is bringing better MS treatments and will one day bring a cure.
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