The National Multiple Sclerosis Society – Wisconsin Chapter recently hosted a three-day, 50-mile walk in Door County to benefit people with multiple sclerosis (MS). Lori Schneider, who became the first woman with multiple sclerosis (MS) to summit Mt. Everest this past May, was a guest speaker on Friday evening. The three-day, 50-mile walk is one of only eight such events held throughout the nation and raises money for research, programs and services for people with MS.
Participants walked 20 miles on Friday, 20 miles on Saturday and 10 miles on Sunday, ending at the Washington Island Ferry Launch.
Debbie Knudson from Union Grove completing Mile 20, Day #1
The event routes cover much of Door County:
Day 1 (Friday, September 18, 2009)
Begins at Ellison Bay Bluff County Park at 8:00 a.m.
Lunch at Wilson’s Restaurant & Ice Cream Parlor
Finishes in Fish Creek
Evening Program with Lori Schneider begins at 7:15 p.m., Wagon Trail Resort, Ellison Bay
Day 2 (Saturday, September 19, 2009)
Begins at Wagon Trail Resort at 8:30 a.m.
Lunch at Sister Bay Café
Finishes at Cana Island Lighthouse
Day 3 (Sunday, September 20, 2009)
Walkers begin at Wagon Trail Resort in a staggered start
Lunch near Washington Island Ferry Launch
Finishes at Washington Island Ferry Launch
Walkers, who hail from throughout the country, have been training all summer. Also participating in the event is the President and CEO of the national organization, Joyce Nelson, along with the President and CEO of the Wisconsin Chapter, Colleen Kalt.
Event sponsors include Bayer Health Care, Biogen idec, Great Wolf Lodge, Door County Memorial Hospital Ministry Health Care, Becker Law, EMD Serono, Culver’s, Fox 6 Milwaukee, InStep, Rockford Silk Screen Process, and Tony Machi Fresh Produce and Vegetables.
MS interrupts the flow of information from the brain to the body and stops people from moving. It is an unpredictable, often disabling disease of the central nervous system. Symptoms range from numbness and tingling to blindness and paralysis. Most people are diagnosed between the ages of 20 and 50 and MS is two to three times more common in women than men. One in 500 Wisconsin residents lives with MS, giving our state one of the highest incidence rates in the country. While the progress, severity and specific symptoms of MS in any one person cannot yet be predicted, advances in research and treatment are giving hope to those affected by the disease.
Multiple sclerosis stops people from moving. The National MS Society exists to make sure it doesn’t. Through ground-breaking research initiatives, programs designed to address the challenges of living with MS, and advocating for improved public policy, the Society is dedicated to a world free of MS.
For more information visit www.wisMS.org.
