Walking For a Cure. . . But Mostly For My Partner

I lay in bed Saturday night before the MS Walk thinking. Going over my game plan for our early start the next morning, wondering if Oliver would have the patience to spend at least part of the walk in the stroller (He didn't by the way, he put up with it for less than a block before I put him in the 'Baby Trekker'.), which carrier I should take to wear him in when he inevitably had enough of his isolation pod.

I thought about how I should have gotten those weird looking running shoes that make your butt look good, and if my not so good looking butt would even make it the 10 km with a 15lb baby strapped to me.

And at last I thought about why I was doing this. What possessed me, completely at random one day to sign up for this walk?

When people ask me I usually spew some gobbledy gook about wanting to set a good example for Oliver about charity and activity and all that good productive citizen stuff. That is all true, but that's not really why I did this.

I knew when I got involved with Das Piper that he had been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. I had no real idea of what that meant, it worried me some, but he had told me that having been diagnosed for 10 years with little to no progression it was nothing really to be worried about.

I believed him, and in our daily lives I don't really ever think about it. But as time wore on and I started to take stock of all the things that Das Piper has lost I began to realize that MS is never far from his mind.

From having to relearn to tie his shoes, having to give up playing his bagpipes, which he loved, and having tremendous trouble learning to change a diaper because of nerve loss in his hands, to being limited in his work as a contractor because of vertigo, fatigue, and occasional weakness in his legs, Das Piper is reminded of his disease constantly, and in a way that I can sometimes forget or overlook.

I know he wants me to overlook it. He doesn't like to admit when his legs are bugging him, or let his frustration show when he's having trouble reaching the next cord on his guitar but I see it.

The day I signed up to do the walk Das Piper had just gone to work. Moments before, Oliver had been laying on the floor by his father's feet playing and watching him getting ready to head out.

'No-one ties their shoes like I do' I heard Das Piper say. 'Your mom will have to teach you how to do it the right way.'

I have raised $500 for MS research in the last few months, it's not much, but I am proud of it. Experts say that they are close to a cure. But more than a cure, I wanted to do this walk to show my partner that I am here, that I love and support him, that I have accepted him MS and all, and that I am willing and able to help him in any way I can, that I don't mind if Oliver learns to tie his shoes differently. I need to show him these things because I know that if I were to say them out loud I would cry, and he would tell me to stop being mushy, and that I don't need to worry about him. He hates it when I worry about him.

He wouldn't even let me wear a tag with his name on it to tell other walkers what had inspired me. But that wasn't that important to me. He knew that I was doing it for him.

As far as teaching Oliver anything about charity and all that, well, he slept through most of it and was a little oblivious to the whole thing. But he did think it was a pretty nice walk despite it being a bit on the cold side.

I am Still Fat, But Getting Thinner!

After 30 days at curves I have gained 2 pounds. . .

At first this information came as a devastating blow to my confidence in the work I’ve been doing there. At my first work out my coach Avril told me that this would happen, after all, muscle weighs more than fat, but I had convinced myself that I would be an exception, that my work outs combined with the extra 300-400 calories burned per day by breastfeeding would put me on the fast track to skinny.

I was wrong of coarse, but as my 30 day check in went on I did find some pretty cool results. I’ve lost 1 ½ inches on my bust (ya know the ‘misshapen milk pustules’ I mentioned before), 1 ½ inches on my waist, 2 inches on my abs, and 1 inch on my hips. That’s a total of 6 inches lost in just 30 days! And as I went on thinking about it through the rest of my check in and that days work out, I found that I took more comfort and pride in the immeasurable results of my membership; like the camaraderie and friendships I am forging, the energy I am finding, and the stress relieving awesomeness of a good work out.

My gym membership has also had great results for the rest of the family as well. My first few work outs were a little stressful for everyone really. Das Piper was still nervous about being alone with Oliver, and Oliver was still nervous about being anywhere where his mommy wasn’t, but now, after just over a month of my being away for an hour three times a week I no longer come back to a screaming and inconsolable baby reaching desperately for me, but a happy baby full of smiles and coos telling me about all the fun things that happened while I was gone.

When Mommy’s at the gym it’s jam time for my boys, who spend the hour playing guitar, harmonica, rain stick, chanter, rattle and ukulele. Both of them have gained a new confidence in being left to their own devices, and along with a stronger bond that I can see between father and son it has also given Das Piper the confidence to comfort, cuddle, and nurture and otherwise take and even more active roll in all of Oliver’s daily activities. In fact, when I came back the other day Oliver had ACTUALLY FALLEN ASLEEP WITHOUT ME! It hasn’t happened since, but I’ll take it!

I can feel myself getting stronger, and now, as the weather is getting progressively warmer, little bits of brown muddy grass are poking out from under the snow, and the city smells like dirt and melting dog poop, I will continue to go to the gym 3 times a week and I can add daily walking to our routine to practice for our MS walk at the end of April!

Multiple Sclerosis Walk For a Cure

Oliver and I have Signed up For the Multiple Sclerosis walk for a cure on April 25th. The decision for us to do so was an easy one, we may not have the extra cash to donate our own money, but we do have time and energy to give.

In Saskatchewan especially, MS effects many families, including ours, in a huge way on a daily basis. I find a lot of hope in recent research and breakthroughs. With a little luck, and a lot of hard work and generosity we could see an end to MS in our lifetime.



I have decided on a target donation goal of 500$. If you would like to contribute to our goal you may do so here.