Why all the fuss?

Everyone give a warm CraniuMS welcome to Misty Barbeaux and Michael Hunter for joining the team!

If you've been following CraniuMS' efforts so far you might be wondering what it's all for. What is evident is the money we are raising for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. Among many things, The National Multiple Sclerosis Society supports more MS research. Research that could some day find a cure. Research to have medication in a pill form instead of the daily and weekly injections that can sometimes cause reactions. The National MS Society also offers more services for people with MS. Services like financial assistance to offset the extremely high cost of the disease modifying drugs used for treatment that average about $3000/month. Even with health insurance the copay may run upwards of $500 a month and for many this is the difference between being on the drug and not. Your donations help support assistance to lower these costs and give everyone with MS a fighting chance to stop the progression of their disease with treatment. The National MS Society also provides more professional education programs and furthers more MS advocacy efforts than any other MS organization in the world. Our efforts help to bring a voice to MS, to create awareness of the disease. All of these things are of equal importance and bring us one step closer to putting an end to MS.

What may not be as evident is what your support means on a personal level, beyond the monetary value that helps the cause. If you yourself are fighting MS or are the support system or caregiver for someone with MS, this walk is a chance to feel in control of something that feels out of control on a day to day basis. Someone with MS doesn't know if they'll wake up the next day and lose the function of their hand because of an exacerbation. They don't know if the problems they have when they walk will ever get better or worse. They can't control what happens next except to hope and have faith and a good attitude. This is exactly what your support does. It gives us back control. It gives us the control to see that we can make a difference, that YOU can make a difference. It creates a positive experience. During the 3 months that CraniuMS campaigns for awareness and donations it creates a feeling like we are invincible and gives us a break from the daily worry and instead gives us the chance to focus on something so unbelievably inspiring. The support touches and warms hearts and every day to log in and watch us get closer and closer to our goal because of everyday people, it makes us feel good about the disease and that having this and being passionate about the cause will bring something good out of a potentially bad situation.

I think that CraniuMS member Bridget Heuer said it best when she said "The difference between a good day and a bad day is how you choose to react." By being a part of all of this, it gives us a chance to be proactive instead of reactive. We can't control the bad days just as much as we can't control the good days, but controlling what we do with the cards dealt to us is what your support means.

"Captain Crunch"