SEQUIM — Karen Griffiths of Sequim decided to participate in the Bainbridge Island Walk for Multiple Sclerosis on April 2 because she still can.
When she was diagnosed five years ago after waking up numb from head to toe, she wasn’t sure what living with multiple sclerosis would mean.
It hasn’t been easy.
Along with a barrage of symptoms — including fatigue, stiffness, spasticity, spasms and uncertain thinking, memory and attention — she also has dealt with people who seemingly want to comfort her but yet belittle her condition.
“People react with ‘but you look so good’ or ‘you look fine,’” she said.
“I used to have the attitude, ‘just rise above it’ — ‘it’ being whatever problem I was dealing with at the time.
“Well, I’ve been humbled by the beast within.”
Multiple sclerosis — or MS — is caused by an anti-inflammatory process that attacks the myelin coating on nerve fibers in the central nervous system and disrupts the conduction of nerve impulses in the brain, spinal cord or optic nerve.
Takes huge toll
It takes a huge toll, said Griffiths, whose column, “Peninsula Horseplay,” appears every other Wednesday in the Peninsula Daily News.
“For the most part, it controls what I’m able to do physically and — because it resides primarily in the brain — emotionally,” she said.
“I’ve come to believe successful living with MS is about learning to live with MS as best as one is able.”
Griffiths participated in her first walk to raise funds for MS research four years ago at the urging of her niece, Ashley Griffiths, who was devastated to hear of her diagnosis.
This year, Griffiths walked the three-mile course on Bainbridge Island during one of eight walks in Washington state to raise money for the National MS Society.
She has two more weeks to raise the money needed to meet her goal of $1,995.
So far, she has raised $1,660 — more than she has raised in the past, she said.
Part of that is due to a $300 donation from her niece, Ashley.
“I was really surprised when I went on there and saw that she, at 28, had donated that much,” she said.
“But she was just really touched by my diagnosis.
“That really touched me, that she did that for me.”
Griffiths emphasized that although Ashley’s donation was very important to her personally, smaller contributions are essential.
Small donations count
“Those $5, $10 and $20 ones add up, and you can see on my page that those are the ones that have made up most of the total,” she said.
“The small ones are the ones that add up.”
Having lived with the disease for half a decade, Griffiths has learned to take it one day at a time.
She will do the walk as many times as she can to raise awareness and funds for research.
“The mission of the National MS Society is to mobilize people and resources to drive research for a cure and to address the challenges of everyone affected by MS,” she said.
“I’ve joined this movement, and I invite you to be a part of it simply by making a donation towards my fundraising.
“Together, we will do what we cannot do alone.”
To donate toward her goal, visit http://tinyurl.com/gokareng.
To reach the Greater Northwest Chapter of the National MS Society, which is at 192 Nickerson St. Suite 100, Seattle, WA 98109, phone 206-284-4254 or email walkMSnorthwest@nmss.org.
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Reporter Paige Dickerson can be reached at 360-417-3535 or at paige.dickerson@peninsuladailynews.com.
