Hey Onyx+Ivy community! My name is Bambi and I am taking over the Onyx+Ivy blog to share about my friend Karen and her diagnosis of MS (multiple sclerosis). Today is World MS Day, Canadians have one of the highest rates of MS in the world, on average 11 Canadians are diagnosed with this unpredictable illness every year. We don’t know what causes MS, and we don’t have a cure. Yet. Last year (January 2020) my best friend Karen was 1 of the 11 Canadians diagnosed and it forever changed her life.. Since then, she has continued to educate herself and others about MS, trained physically, has undergone infusion treatments and has accepted this as her new normal. Through participation in various support groups and working very closely with the MS Society and St. Michael's Hospital to bring more awareness, she has been partnered with local businesses benefitting the MSSOC, featured in various newsletters and media campaigns, and has made numerous connections within the MS community .
Team MS Buddies was formed last year with Karen as the captain. She assembled an army of 42 to participate in MSSOC Virtual MS Walk and together with her leadership and determination Team MS Buddies raised $18,000 in donations and earned the distinction of one of the Top Fundraising Teams.
Her personal goal of raising $10,000 earned her an invitation to the Walk of Champions as a member of Team Canada and in Fall 2020 she was selected to be an Ambassador to the MS Society
Instead of giving up and letting MS define her, Karen has truly embraced it. Karen is one of the most selfless people I know, she has a heart of gold and I honestly cannot imagine my life without her and I am 100% sure anyone who is blessed to have Karen in their life would agree with me.
I am participating in MS Walk because I want to support the world's leading researchers to discover the cause, treatment and cure for MS. When you donate to my fundraising, to Team MS Buddies, you are helping researchers get one step closer to finding a cure not only for Karen but for all the MS Warriors.
Thank you for supporting not only Team MS Buddies, but our MS Walk community. Follow Karen’s journey on her
Follow Karen’s journey on her Instagram: @karenvsms
https://www.instagram.com/karenvsms/
xoxo Bambi
