It Happened to Me

I could never really put my finger on what has driven me to make my diagnosis of MS a positive thing until now.

The short answer is ... I like to make people happy. It makes me feel good.

The better answer is ... I started fundraising about six months after being diagnosed.

My first event was The Longest Day of Golf, sponsored by the Michigan Chapter of the MS Society. (Golf related — you should not be surprised by this.) All I had to do was raise $125 and I could golf from dawn to dusk. Sign me up! There's more? With the money I raise I can help those with MS.

Sweet!

So this was the beginning of the positive side of my MS diagnosis. I was hooked on helping others AND I had a new excuse to go golfing.

I was soon getting involved with other fundraising and volunteering opportunities. I worked with my mom and her workplace to create my cookbook. It was an awesome way to raise awareness regarding multiple sclerosis, and all the proceeds go to help fight MS.

I was soon contacted by local news stations to share my experiences. One of them asked me to represent the city of Detroit as a local citizen with an inspiring story. I was asked by another local news to present a live on-air cooking demo of a recipe from my cookbook, talk about my MS, and to promote MS Awareness week and the events happening around town that week.

I have had amazing opportunities to share my experiences and my passion for helping others. Sometimes I was asked to present to students, or cook on stage, and as mentioned above, even cook on LIVE television. All of this to help those with multiple sclerosis by bringing awareness to others.

By sharing my experiences I have been able to see smiles on people's faces and this makes me happy. I know that I have helped them in some little way.

A few times people have told me that I inspire them. This is by far the best reaction I hear from people. By inspiring a person to volunteer or fundraise I realize I am showing them a way to make themselves feel good by helping others.

Now go ahead and make some plans to help someone in need this week! You'll feel so good about it, you'll find yourself wanting to do even more! That's what happened to me.