It's that time of year again, that time when that funny character you've all come to know and love, that's me, annoys the bugger out of you and asks for money. It's MS Walk time.
Every year when April's nearing its end and the weather becomes warm enough so a person won't die just walking two blocks, thousands of people gather in Southstreet Seaport in Manhattan and begin a trek in order to raise money to fight Multiple Sclerosis.
Multiple Sclerosis (MS) attacks nerves. Happy healthy nerves have a bunch of plump undamaged myelin sheaths on them to protect them and help quickly send messages from the brain to the body.
Multiple Sclerosis destroys the protective myelin sheaths that cover our nerves. As MS breaks down these myelin sheaths, the nerves are exposed to damage and messages from the brain are no longer quickly and correctly carried out.
The nerve on the has been scarred by Multiple Sclerosis. The video doesn't quite work on this, but the red and yellow "message" starts at the top and goes to the bottom of the nerve. On the right, you can see what is left of this "message" is much smaller after going through the damaged myelin. The brain can not give commands to the body with a nerve this damaged. A person with MS becomes more and more incapacitated and is eventually paralyzed.
That's the basics. Want the kicker? Diagnosis usually occurs between 20 to 50 years of age. Most are young adults. In a single week over 200 young adults find out they have MS. What were you worrying about in your twenties?
I'll be walking 6 miles on April 22nd in order to raise money to find a cure. If you would like to donate, please visit my site. It's a secure site and easy to use. If you would rather pay by check, please email me at kat.gelsone@gmail.com.
Kat's MS Donation SiteIf you would like to find out more about MS, go to the
Multiple Sclerosis International Foundation site where they have helpful explanations and images like the ones I stole for this post. The myelin video makes much more sense on their site.
