National Multiple Sclerosis Awareness Week is March 12-18, and we have an incredible opportunity to increase people’s understanding of this chronic disease of the central nervous system.
Central Michigan University’s Clarke Historical Library has invited us to present as part of its annual Speaker Series, and our event is set for 7 p.m. Thursday, March 15, in Park Library right at the heart of MS Awareness Week. Check out this flyer that’s being used to promote our special presentation, which you all are invited to attend!
And we encourage you all to do what you can next week (and throughout the year) to help get the word out about MS. Here are a five easy things you can do:
Make a fashion statement
Wear orange (the official color for MS) throughout the week.
Change your status
Visit the National MS Society website and gather MS facts to post in your Facebook status updates each day of the week. Want some help? Here are some to get you started:
• Approximately 400,000 Americans have MS, and every week about 200 people are diagnosed. World-wide, MS affects about 2.5 million people.
• Multiple sclerosis is a chronic, unpredictable disease of the central nervous system (the brain, optic nerves, and spinal cord). It is thought to be an autoimmune disorder.
• MS symptoms result when an immune-system attack affects myelin, the protective insulation surrounding nerve fibers of the central nervous system (the brain and spinal cord). Myelin is destroyed and replaced by scars of hardened “sclerotic” tissue.
• Symptoms of MS are unpredictable, vary from person to person, and from time to time in the same person.
Get involved
Go online and register for a Walk MS event in your area within the coming months. This is a great way to join others in raising awareness and funding that supports NMSS research and programs.
Share in our stories
Take a walk in our shoes and read our book, “Despite MS, to Spite MS.” And if you’ve already read it, encourage your friends and families to read it so they get a glimpse of what life is like for two people living with this disease.
Orange ya curious?
Visit orangeyacurious.com and share it with all your friends. You’ll be glad you did!
This is a great time of year, and we hope you have fun with it. And thanks for checking in with us and helping in our efforts to stay one step ahead of this disease.