Keira-anne.com

I had a very adventurous Oma. She loved spending time with her grandaughter. Some of her favourite times to herself were spent sitting on the patio on warm summer days watching the hummingbirds dance around the yard. She baked the best rye bread known to man. Her lap was always prime seating for storytime. I loved to make her beautiful by going through her make-up box and putting way too much lipstick on her – usually about an inch in all directions outside of her lip area. She was so loved.

Not long before I came along, my Oma was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis.

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an unpredictable, often disabling disease of the central nervous system — the brain and spinal cord. The disease attacks the protective myelin covering of the central nervous system, causing inflammation and often destroying the myelin in patches. In its most common form, MS has well defined attacks followed by complete or partial recovery. The severity of MS, progression and specific symptoms cannot be predicted at the time of diagnosis… there is no cure. [source]

Many of the adventurous things my Oma liked doing were no longer options for her. Much of her time was spent house-bound, so it was crucially important that my family and I were all around much of the time. Though her prognosis wasn’t hopeful from the beginning, she lived vivaciously for many more years after her diagnosis until finally succumbing to the disease when I was in my early teens.

On Sunday, February 17th, Mt. Washington and the Investors Group are sponsoring the Ski For MS on the slopes of this girl’s favourite mountain. The event is designed to not only help find a cure for multiple sclerosis, but also to support those currently living with this disease.

How can you help? The concept is simple: you sponsor your favourite snowboarder (um, that’d be me…in case you were wondering) by donating the the MS Society of Canada and I ride from morning ’til afternoon for a fantastic cause.

I can’t think of a better or more fun way to honour a really stellar lady!

There are two ways in which you can donate: click here to make a secure online donation or e-mail me (keira at keira-anne dot com) to arrange for a cash donation.

Donations of $20 or more are automatically issued a tax receipt – please include your full address and correct postal code.