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MARCH MADNESS?

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BasketballA Guest Blog by Stephanie Mitchell of Vandalia, Ohio

As the collegiate sporting world begins its annual trek into what is known as basketball’s “March Madness”, I find it ironically humorous that the month of March is also MS Awareness Month in Ohio and National MS Awareness Week is March 11-17. College basketball fanatics nationwide will be focusing their attention on several weeks’ worth of games, which prepare them for the Final Four and, eventually, one team that will be crowned the national champion. There will be tremendous media coverage and an enormous amount of money spent by fans attending hundreds of games. But, how does the MS community prepare for its own week and month of recognition? We live MS everyday; that’s how we prepare.

As an individual living with MS, and like others afflicted with MS, one week or one month out of the year may not make much of a difference in terms of how we personally focus on the disease. We live it everyday. It doesn’t go away. It is on our minds constantly. I still give myself an injection weekly; I still see my chiropractor and my massage therapist monthly; I still feel occasional fatigue, notice cognitive changes from time to time, and feel numbness in my toes when I exercise. Those things don’t change.

However, to assist in driving support for this disease during a week or month dedicated to MS, I make sure my volunteer status is up to date for all of the year’s MS events in my local area. Whether it be Walk MS, Bike MS or MuckFest MS, I’m going to do my best to be available in every capacity to support those who are raising the funds to help support research for a disease that affects me and, as a direct result, affects my family and friends. I include links to those events on my Facebook page, tweet them via my Twitter account and proudly wear something orange to show my support (no, I’m not a Syracuse, Tennessee, Miami FL, Princeton, Auburn or Texas fan; orange is the color chosen to symbolize the support for MS). It never feels like enough, but I feel good knowing that I gave of myself in terms of the time I have available and the methods available to me that I can use to spread the word.

However, to the nation or the world, focused attention, marketing and/or media efforts can make an amazing difference in terms of funds raised to support research for the disease or at least drawing attention to fundraising and volunteer efforts available in local communities.

But, wouldn’t it be great if college basketball’s March Madness also went all-out in a slam-dunk of orange support for MS? Think of what we could accomplish; together.

GO ORANGE!

To find events and activities in your area, visit any of the following:

http://www.nationalmssociety.org/index.aspx

http://www.nationalmssociety.org/chapters/OHG/index.aspx

http://www.msconnection.org

The views, endorsements, and opinions of the guest blogger do not necessarily reflect the views of the National MS Society. If you would like to be a guest blogger, please email Rich Walburg.

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