10,000 Strong Expected At Walk MS Denver
DENVER (CBS4) - This Saturday thousands of Coloradans will show how they are stronger than multiple sclerosis at the annual Walk MS fundraiser.
Walk MS Denver is the largest Walk MS event in the country and CBS4 is a proud sponsor. On Sunday MS patients Carlyn Shaw and Heidi Dominguez stopped by CBS4 studios to talk about how important the event is and how people can participate.
Shaw was only 19 and in college when she was diagnosed with MS. She was experiencing numbness along the entire left side of her body and losing vision in one eye. It was then she decided to become more active and began participating in walk challenges to keep using her muscles. She soon graduated to running marathons and has been symptom free for more than 10 years.
PHOTO GALLERY: Walk MS 2015
Dominguez was 38 years old when she was diagnosed with MS in 2009. She has participated in Walk MS for seven years and has been a Top 100 fundraiser each year.
"MS is a disease of the central nervous system. It affects the flow of information from the brain to the body," Dominguez said. "There are one in 400 Coloradans living with MS, whereas nationally it's one in 750 people living with MS. So it's quite prevalent here."
Symptoms range from affecting balance, cognition and sensory abilities; or it presents as fatigue, numbness and tingling.
"It all depends on how the central nervous system was affected," Dominguez said.
MS isn't always noticeable in people, and such is the case for Shaw.
"I've been very fortunate to live quite well and I'm able to manage my MS," Shaw said. "Last year I ran both the Boston and the New York marathons for MS. So this year I'm really excited to be part of the planning committee for our first 5K here in Denver."
The national MS Society is also challenging people to show how they are stronger than MS. Patients are encouraged to capture in words, pictures or video a creative way they overcome one or more challenges of MS. They then should share their story with the world on YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram with the hashtag #WeAreStrongerThanMS in the title or description.
More than 10,000 people are expected to participate in Saturday's Walk MS Denver. The new 5K run starts at 8 a.m. and the walk begins at 9 a.m. at City Park.
LINKS: Walk MS Denver | Together We Are Stronger
