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There are more than 8,000 reasons why we walk. Sisters, mothers, brothers, friends, aunts - the list could go on and on. The National MS Society believes that moving is not just something you can or can’t do, but rather is who you are. This is why we sponsor events like Walk MS to raise funds for research, as well as comprehensive programs and services for people with MS moving closer to a world free of MS.
Each year, honorees are selected for the Walk MS in Cedar Rapids, Des Moines, Fargo, Rapid City, and Sioux Falls. These honorees have the important task of putting a face and voice to the disease. Do you know someone who should be a 2010 Walk MS Honoree? Tell us today!
Below are the stories of just a few of the Walk MS: North Central States 2009 honorees.
Tami
When Tami was 9 years old she was diagnosed with mononucleosis. She started having double vision on a trip to my grandparent’s house for the summer. She was in the hospital for 2 weeks and the doctors could not find out what was wrong. Her mom decided to take her to the Mayo Clinic where she stayed for 2 months. While at the Mayo Clinic, she slipped into a comma for 2 weeks and had to be kept alive by machines. When she woke from the comma, she had to learn to walk and talk all over again. “It was a very scary time for my family,” Tami stated. “I owe EVERYTHING to my mom, for me getting through that time. She NEVER left my bedside and stayed with me through the whole thing.”
Tami was finally able to make it to the day that she was released from the hospital but they really didn’t have a definite diagnosis at that time. She had to go back to Mayo Clinic every year after that for a check up and when she was 16, she was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. She was the youngest person on record at the Mayo Clinic at that time to be diagnosised with MS.
Tami is thankful to her family, friends, all her doctors and the MS Society for helping her through. She is striving for the day that a cure is found!
Kathy Sogard
 Kathy Sogard gives back to her sister by giving to the MS community.
Since her sisters MS diagnosis over 20 years ago Kathy has supported her sister toward fighting the debilitating effects of MS. She saw her sisters speech impaired, the exhaustion that she felt, and her difficulty completing daily tasks. Because of this Kathy was inspired by her sister and others within the MS community to “do whatever you can to fight it.”
Kathy began volunteering with the Des Moines walk over 15 years ago. She continued to volunteer and lead in the MS community there until her move to Cedar Rapids almost ten years ago. In Cedar Rapids she continued as a walk committee member and later the Walk Chair.
She has given many volunteer hours of enthusiasm and support. She has been a constant inspiration to volunteers around her not to give up fighting MS. We thank Kathy for all she has done within the MS community and for the inspiration that she gives us all!
Shay Slaughter
 Shay Slaughter, a senior at Douglas High School in Ellsworth, SD was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis last year, shortly after her 17th birthday. Since her diagnosis, Shay has been extremely active with the National MS Society. She and her mom, Gayla, led the Rapid City Walk MS team, Shay’s Strutters. Shay’s Strutters was the largest team at the walk and raised over $3,500.
Shay also volunteered along with family and friends for Bike MS: Weekend Ride Around the Hills in September and recently joined the planning committee for Walk MS in Rapid City.
Along with being active with the National MS Society, Shay is vice president of her class at Douglas High School, president of Y2Y (a drug and alcohol prevention group), and plans to attend Lee University in Cleveland, TN next year.
Shay’s optimism and strength are unmistakable; She is an inspiration to everyone she meets as she boldly faces the challenges of being a teen with MS.
Kirsten Baloun
 Kirsten’s life experiences can definitely be described as having many ups and downs. Back in 1990 her troubles began with severe double vision and over the next few years she was not only diagnosed with having Hodgkins Lymphoma, but in 2002 after having several episodes of Optic Neuritis, difficulties with her balance, fatigue and numbness she was also diagnosed with having multiple sclerosis. Even with this diagnosis Kirsten stayed positive and continued on with her life. She started a family and got involved and through it all she has always had the support of her husband Aric. Aric sees her determination and that’s just one of the reasons he nominated her to be one of the walk honorees. Even though changes and sacrifices had to be made in order to adapt to life with MS Kirsten is thankful and feels lucky to have such a strong and supportive family.
Recently Kirsten faced another unexpected challenge in her life when she was diagnosed with having breast cancer and had to undergo a bilateral mastectomy. But even through this Kirsten continues to have a positive outlook. “I feel like my body is doing the best it can and it’s up to me to take of my body because you only get one in life. I have become adept at saying no if I am feeling stretched too thin and I make sure to do things that interest me and make my family happy.”
Mary Smith
 Mary joined Walk MS along side her daughter, Amber in 2007 when they formed the team Up the Creek with a Team of Paddles. Her daughter had been diagnosed with MS in April 2006 and Mary was there every step of the way to help support her. One year, one month and one day after her daughter’s diagnosis, Mary learned that she too had multiple sclerosis.
Mary worked at a nursing home for 23 years. With her diagnosis of MS and her symptoms becoming more apparent, she realized that the long and sometimes odd hours of her work schedule would not be good for her health. She now finds herself enjoying more time with her family which includes her husband, Dick, who she has been married to for 35 years, her 3 children and 7 grandchildren. She is thankful for the support of her family, most of all her husband who made walking away from her job to focus on herself an option rather than a dilemma. Mary is the rock and strength of her family and refuses to let MS get her down. She enjoys taking motorcycle trips and helping on the farm.
Up the Creek with a Team of Paddles was the top team at Walk MS Fargo raising over $11,000 with 36 team members. They come together to walk for a purpose --- afterall, they are now walking for two.
Roy Honermann
 Staying active is what Roy Honermann strives to do each day. Roy and his wife Karen have been married for 34 years, have three children and built a lake home at Lake Benton, MN where Roy spends a great deal of his time fishing, boating, and working around the yard. It wasn’t until 1992 at the age of 38 that Roy was diagnosed with having multiple sclerosis after experiencing episodes of blurred vision, difficulties with his balance, and numbness in his feet & hands. Through the adjustments and changes that MS has brought to Roy’s life he still continues to keep a positive outlook and continues to be an inspiration. Roy and his family have been active in the Sioux Falls Walk MS since 1998 where they continue to obtain very important material on MS, plus have the opportunity to meet and visit with other associated with the disease. Roy is described as being a very private person, but he says that when it comes to his MS it sometimes just helps to talk about it to someone who knows what you’re going through.
Roy says that most importantly is that he has had the love and support of family and friends. “My wife and kids have been there for me all the way. My mother, my brothers, sisters, in-laws and their families have helped me so much. MS just didn’t affect me. It affected everyone that loves me too. They are there for me everyday and they help me to keep going.”
Amanda Thornton
 Amanda Thornton is many things to different people, but primarily, she is a wife, daughter, sister, friend and teacher. Her joys in life come from spending time with my family and friends, traveling when possible, exploring different cultures and trying to find the beauty in the little things.
Amanda was diagnosed with MS ten years ago when she was 19 years old. Since then, she has been on drug therapy treatment to slow the progression of this disease.
She feels blessed to work in a school district that supports her professionally and emotionally. Last year, John Nelson, the principal of Ben Franklin Middle School in Fargo, ND, invited the staff to participate in the MS Walk. Not long after, more than 50 people came out to walk toward a cure. Seeing how many people are involved with the MS Society has inspired Amanda to get the message out—”together, we can defeat MS.”
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