Perhaps a perfect day for a walk in the park.
Whether they knew somebody or were with somebody suffering from multiple sclerosis, the Prince George MS Walk took place on Sunday in the Lheidli T’enneh Memorial Park with the hope of being one step closer to a potential cure.
Moments ahead of the event, Sandra Stibrany, Chair for the Prince George MS Walk, confirmed to MyPGNow that fundraising efforts saw them reach $21,000 in donations. The hope was to surpass last year’s goal of $19,000.
According to Stibrany, the event drew over 41 teams.
A great turnout for an event raising awareness for a disease that, at this moment in time, has no known cure.
“In the Northern part of the province, we have 800-900 people who have MS,” said Stibrany. “In the Prince George area, so just the city itself, there are about 200 people”
Canada has the highest rate of multiple sclerosis in the world. A total of 77,000 Canadians are currently diagnosed with the disease.
“The other sad statistic is that three-quarters of the people who have MS are women,” said Stibrany, whose daughter was diagnosed with MS back in 2008. We don’t know why it attacks women more than men, but that’s where the research comes in.”
According to the MS Society, 11 people in Canada get diagnosed with MS each day.
Half of the funds raised by the MS Society get funnelled into research efforts in hope of one day finding a cure.
Something going on in the Prince George area you think people should know about?
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