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Hundreds lace up their shoes for Walk MS event
Hundreds lace up their shoes for Walk MS event
MILWAUKEE (WITI) -- Multiple sclerosis affects tens of thousands of people living in Wisconsin, and on Sunday, May 4th, people hit the pavement in 20 communities throughout the state. At one point, MS was considered an untreatable disease, but now, supporters are helping to make strides toward finding a cure.
There was a sea of orange near Lake Michigan in Milwaukee on Sunday morning, May 4th for "Walk MS" -- a three-mile walk that connects people living with multiple sclerosis and those who care about them.
The funds raised give hope to the more than 10,000 children, women and men in the state of Wisconsin living with MS.
"Stuff like this helps raise money for the research that we need. It helps bring out new medications that weren`t available," Shannon Lesniewski said.
The event was emotional for people like Lesniewski, who has MS.
"This walk means more to me than I can even put into words," Lesniewski said.
Multiple sclerosis is a potentially debilitating disease in which your body's immune system eats away at the protective sheath (myelin) that covers your nerves.
Damage to myelin causes interference in the communication between your brain, spinal cord and other areas of your body.
This condition may result in deterioration of the nerves themselves, a process that's not reversible.
Symptoms vary widely, depending on the amount of damage and the nerves that are affected. People with severe cases of multiple sclerosis may lose the ability to walk or speak clearly.
"I am permanently disabled," Lesniewski said.
Colleen Kalt with the National Multiple Sclerosis Society of Wisconsin says MS is becoming more prevalent in Wisconsin.
"Wisconsin has one of the highest incident rates of multiple sclerosis in the United States, and so we estimate anywhere between 10,000 and 15,000 children, women, and men have multiple sclerosis," Kalt said.
Kalt says the Walk MS event is making a difference.
"When we started this walk many years ago, there were no treatments for multiple sclerosis. Because of efforts like this, we now have 11 treatments for people with the disease," Kalt said.
Those impacted by MS walked with courage on Sunday morning. They hope that events like Sunday's walk will help to eventually find a cure.
"You have to keep hope alive," Lesniewski said.
More than 1,500 walkers came out for Milwaukee's Walk MS. The goal was to raise $320,000 in Milwaukee, and $1.5 million throughout the state.
CLICK HERE to learn more about Milwaukee's Walk MS.
CLICK HERE to learn more about multiple sclerosis via the National Multiple Sclerosis Society's website.