Hundreds turn out at Tulalip for annual MS walk

TULALIP — More than 900 walkers gathered at the Tulalip Amphitheater on the morning of April 4 to take steps toward finding a cure for multiple sclerosis.

The Greater Washington Chapter of the National MS Society set a fundraising goal of $2.2 million for its 19th annual walk this year, and staged walks in Snohomish County, Tacoma, Olympia, Bellingham, Bainbridge Island, Kennewick and Kitsap County April 4, followed by a walk in Seattle April 5. Tulalip hosted the three-mile walk in Snohomish County, which started at 9:30 a.m., as both individuals and teams made a circuit around the Tulalip Resort Hotel and Casino.

The National MS Society’s Greater Washington Chapter supports not only local MS services and programs, but also national research into MS prevention, treatments and a cure. The chapter has reported that Western Washington makes up more than 9,000 of the more than 400,000 people nationwide who are living with multiple sclerosis, and the Pacific Northwest has the highest incidence of multiple sclerosis of almost anywhere in the world.

Multiple sclerosis is a chronic, unpredictable and often disabling disease that attacks the central nervous system. Its symptoms include numbness, paralysis and loss of vision, and vary from person to person. Every week in the United States approximately 200 people are diagnosed with MS, which most often strikes adults between the ages of 20 and 50. The disease affects an estimated 2.5 million worldwide.

Rosanna Snyder, director of special events for the chapter, noted that approximately 850 walkers had been registered for the Snohomish County walk before April 4, and added that the chapter has until May 1 to reach its fundraising goal of $2.2 million.

“We were surprised by the boost in registration during the last few weeks before the walk,” Snyder said. “We have about as many walkers this year as last year. Over the years, we’ve experienced a steady growth in our yearly fundraising totals, and in this economic climate we’re happy to have maintained the growth of the previous years.”

Marysville resident Karl Holzknecht has been doing MS walks for the past six years. His wife, Sherri, was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis 13 years ago. He’s proud to be part of “Team Laughing Out Loud,” a 20-member group of walkers that’s been active for four years, and which managed to raise $1,400 this year.

“It’s important for us to help not only our loved ones, but also those we don’t even know yet,” Holzknecht said. “My wife is on a relatively stable plane now, but many of my teammates’ loved ones are more affected. MS affects everyone differently, but for everyone who’s affected by it, it’s a constant, painful, everyday struggle. We can’t lose sight of that. These people need our help and not just once a year, but daily.”

Fellow Marysville resident Sharyl Workman, team captain of the eight-member “Sole Sisters” group, walks for both her sister, June Workman, and for Jill Hansard, the wife of one of her coworkers at Housing Hope. The “Sole Sisters” have been putting the soles of their shoes to work for MS walks since 2006. This year they managed to raise more than $1,760 by raffling off tickets to a sold-out Kenny Chesney concert at Quest Field in Seattle Aug. 1, which were won by Arlington resident Amanda Honsowetz.

“I’m excited by the research that’s being done,” Workman said. “The main reason I do these walks is because my sister can’t, so every year I do it for her. In the years to come, I hope technology advances enough that she can join our team on these walks. I’m amazed that we’ve managed to meet, and even exceed, our fundraising goals, especially in this crazy economy. Each year we’ve raised more money than in the previous years.”

Arlington resident Jamie Maynard has wanted to take part in MS walks for years, since her father lives with multiple sclerosis, but her previous jobs didn’t allow her the time off. This year, Maynard is employed at Skagit Valley Medical Center and she and her coworkers, including Burlington resident Lynn Handy, walked as “Stacy’s Stars,” on behalf of their other coworker, Stacy Johnson. Handy reported that “Stacy’s Stars” have walked as a team for the past four years and that they raised $2,000 this year. Handy’s work as a nurse practitioner has given her insights on how multiple sclerosis can “rob the independence” of those who live with it and she and Maynard agreed that more research and better care are needed.

“My dad is a Baby Boomer and in his community of 30 or 40 houses, four other adults his age have MS,” Maynard said. “Stacy is only in her 30s and she’s raising four children. Everybody’s at different stages and it waxes and wanes. My dad can still walk, but there are days when he gets stuck one position.”

“Major fundraisers, like the MS walk, provide critically needed dollars in this struggling economy for programs that help individuals and families live with this very expensive disease,” said Patty Shepherd-Barnes, president of the Greater Washington Chapter of the National MS Society, which serves 23 counties in Western and Central Washington. “The money also goes for research so that, someday soon, we can have a world free of MS.”

For more information, call the National MS Society’s Greater Washington Chapter at 1-800-344-4867, or log onto their Web site at www.walkMSwashington.org.

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