August 12, 2008

Hi everyone,

This is Laurie Chatigny (Paul’s wife) from Ottawa.  If you’ve read Paul’s fundraising page, you know I am the reason he chose to participate in the MS Climb.

First, I wanted to thank you all very much for your commitment to this tremendous fundraising challenge.

I have relapsing-remitting MS, which can come and go.  Unfortunately, in July, I experienced one of the worst relapses I’ve had since my diagnosis 15 years ago.  I had numbness and weakness in both legs and found it VERY difficult to walk – so much so that I chose to rent a wheelchair in an amusement park on our recent vacation (this is extremely uncharacteristic of me).  I also had to buy a cane to help me when walking around.  It was difficult to go up or down any stairs and generally hard to get around.

I am a fit and active person and this relapse was definitely the most scary of any I’ve had.  It really shook me up.  I can’t begin to explain how frustrating it is watching other people walking and sitting there wondering how long you’re going to be able to manage it.

Thankfully, I seem to be bouncing back from the relapse now and walking around with much more ease.  Although I live with MS every day, this relapse really drove home the importance of living well, taking care of myself and FINDING A CURE!!!

Please know that you ARE making a difference in the lives of those who suffer from MS and giving us hope for a better future- one without MS.
Thank you again to each and every one of you.  I will be forever grateful.

Keep up the great work!!

Laurie