By MARLIESE FILLMORE
Every person at BYU and throughout Utah County has a way to personally help people with multiple sclerosis.
The Utah Chapter National MS Society is holding its ninth-annual MS Walk on April 18 at 10 a.m.
The walk is part of a national effort in more than 650 cities, and it is expected to raise a total of $21 million.
Anyone can participate if they have a minimum of $10 in pledges by the day of the event.
The Utah Chapter is hoping to raise $85,000 for the MS Society, which will support free services provided to Utahns affected by MS and help fund research about the cause and cure of MS, according to a news release.
“The National MS Society helps keep families together despite the strain of dealing with chronic illness, helps people with MS get and keep jobs, gives free counseling and always encourages empowerment,” said Tami Featherstone, Utah Chapter president.
Featherstone said these things mean the difference between living a full and active life, and just existing, for thousands of people with MS.
One BYU student who has MS said she appreciates what the MS Society does.
“They have a support group that meets every two weeks as a place where you can find out more about the disease and talk to others when you are down and discouraged; it’s uplifting,” said Michele Hornby, a BYU student, and widowed mother of three college-age children.
When Hornby was diagnosed with MS five years ago, she had to quit her job as the controller of a graphic arts firm, she said.
The disease is unpredictable and negatively affects the functioning of the brain signals to the rest of the body, causing numbness, loss of control and paralysis.
Hornby was in bed for months after her first attack.
“The doctors told me I could never work again, but that if I tried to use my brain as a muscle it would slow down its deterioration,” Hornby said.
She moved from Glendale, Calif., to Provo, to attend BYU and study psychology. She said she hopes to work in loss counseling so she can teach people with disabilities that they can still contribute to society, she said.
“I think this happened to me so that I could understand the disease and learn to help others,” Hornby said.
As one of two delegates chosen to attend the MS Advocacy and Empowerment Seminar in Washington D.C., Hornby is presenting the Utah Governor and Senators with a token from Utah.
The gift will be a compilation of individual stories of Utahns with MS. Hornby asks any BYU students with MS to contact her at 802-0891 so their stories can be included in the book.
Hornby is also a volunteer for the upcoming MS Walk and encourages everyone to participate in this fund-raiser.
Lunch and entertainment are provided for all walkers. For more details about the walk, call the National MS Society at 801-493-0113.
