Though fewer Kauaians came out Saturday to participate in the Kaua‘i Multiple Sclerosis Walk 2004 held by the Kukui Grove Shopping Center then usual, the walkers raised what appears to be a record amount – for Kaua‘i — to help
Though fewer Kauaians came out Saturday to participate in the Kaua‘i Multiple Sclerosis Walk 2004 held by the Kukui Grove Shopping Center then usual, the walkers raised what appears to be a record amount – for Kaua‘i — to help find a care for the disease.
Some 100 walkers took the three-mile jaunt around the shopping center, but they raised $8,257, up from a little more than $7,000 last year when 150 people walked.
“That is incredible,” Kaua‘i County Councilman Mel Rapozo said of the effort by the smaller group.
Supported by his family, Rapozo has served as chairman of the event for the last five years because he wants to help fund research efforts to find a cure for Kauaians afflicted by the disease, including his brother, Brian.
The walk was a way to provide public education about a disease that can strike anyone between the ages of 20 and 50, according to Lisa Barnett, a development coordinator with the National Multiple Sclerosis Society Hawaii Division, one of the sponsors the yearly event.
“The diagnosed age is between 20 and 50, which is the prime of their lives. It is devastating,” Barnett said. “Twice as many women as men are diagnosed with this disease.”
The Hawai‘i branch has sponsored similar walks on O‘ahu and Maui this year. Representatives for the Honolulu branch hope to raise up to $75,000 this year with the help of Hawai‘i residents. The national group has headquarters in New York.
The amount that will be raised in the state will be used primarily for MS programs helping MS patients in Hawai‘i and research to find a cure, Barnett said.
Symptoms of MS vary, and include muscle stiffness, vision problems, possible blindness, numbness, loss of balance and speech, cognitive and physical problems.
Because symptoms come and go, people with MS never know when an attack will occur.
In a statement Cynthia Edralin, whose mother is one-time Kaua‘i County Councilchairwoman Maxine Correa, said she was diagnosed with the disease at the age of 42 last July.
Edralin had stabbing pains in the back of the neck that would last about a minute. The attacks occurred three-to-four times a day.
“When I went to the doctor to find out the results of the second magnetic resonance imaging (session), I wanted to do this alone. I didn’t want anyone with me,” she said. But Correa showed up when the test results became available.
When Edralin got the news, she asked the doctor to speak to her mother.
“When I saw her, I cried, but she reassured me and told me not to worry, things will be okay, and to have faith in God,” Edralin wrote. “My mother’s my angel.”
Since the diagnosis, her family, who hails from Kalaheo, and friends have been a wellspring of support for her.
Her father, Jerry, who has fought his own medical problems, continues to cook food for her. Her brothers, Jerry Jr. and Kirk, inspire her to persevere. Her daughter, Shantel, who lives on O‘ahu, calls home and provides support.
For more information on how to cope with MS, go to www.nationalmssociety.org.
