Jason's Post Walk 2007 Thank You

Hello there everyone!

This is a message of thanks and an update on how the MS Walk went for "Em's Slackers". We assembled a team of 4 people who walked 7 kilometres on Sunday, April 29th. Thank you to Corina, Lyle and Sue for joining me in the Walk. 2 members of the team wanted to do the 17 kilometre walk, but the other 2 of us balked at that idea. My goal next year is to do the 17 km walk, knowing that I'll be better prepared. It was a beautiful sunny morning, and I would have to guess it was around 15 degrees, which was just right.

As a team, we raised $1717 towards research for MS in just 3 weeks. Thank you to those who contributed to our cause. My goal next year is to have 8 walkers and a fundraising goal of $2000 for the walk on Sunday, April 27, 2008. Hopefully next year Emily will be well enough to participate in the walk, even if it is just the 4 km walk. This year was just too much for Emily given how crowds affect her. Once they get her medications in order, the crowds of people will hopefully not prevent Emily from participating.

I'd also like to thank the members of "Terry's Tailgaters" who embraced our team and some of whom also walked on behalf of Emily as well as Terry (cousin Don's wife). Maybe next year we can all get together and break off into groups of distances and keep each other going along the walk. This year, 2 of our walkers set a fast pace, sometimes leaving the other 2 of us in their dust. I think we found out who was in shape that morning, and obviously, I wasn't one of them. I think that I'm still trying to catch my breath.

Until Emily was diagnosed with MS in January, we used to look at these walks and runs that are held for the different causes and always wondered why people participated in them. But now, after participating in my first MS Walk, I understand that it is an event to get everyone together to prove that just because you are faced with an obstacle, that you can still live your life normally. There were people who participated in the walk that had canes, walkers, some were in wheelchairs and others on motor scooters. To see the hundreds of people on the walk was just phenomenal, especially at the start when everyone was walking over the Provencher Bridge and onto Tache filling the street. It was a surreal feeling.

Thank you once again for all your support!

Jason (& Emily)