Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 28 Page 29 Page 30 Page 31 Page 32 Page 33 Page 34 Page 35 Page 36 Page 37 Page 38 Page 39 Page 40 Page 41 Page 42 Page 43 Page 44 Page 45 Page 46 Page 47 Page 48 Page 49 Page 50 Page 51 Page 52 Page 53 Page 54 Page 55 Page 56 Page 57 Page 58 Page 59 Page 60 Page 61 Page 62 Page 63 Page 64 Page 65 Page 66 Page 67 Page 6810 msfocusmagazine.org Life with MS “I hadn’t even heard of multiple sclerosis,” recalls Samara Wolf, of her 2001 diagnosis. Then just 25 years old, Samara wanted to know what her future held. “I started doing Internet research, but everything was doom and gloom, very negative. It couldn’t be that bad, right?” Determined to be positive and proactive, Samara reached out to the staff here at MS Focus. “They were friendly and got me whatever information I wanted – even information I didn’t know existed.” Later, Samara’s symptoms began to worsen. “After several months of fighting, my lower extremities started giving out and becoming nonfunctional, so I called MS Focus again. They sent me some aids they had available. I expected them to be shipped COD, but I couldn’t believe it when they were delivered to me for free! I called back to thank them and found out that fundraisers and donations are how these things are provided to people with MS.” Samara then set a goal for herself – to pay forward the help she had received from MS Focus, supporting the organization’s programs so others could benefit. “At the time, I didn’t have money to flat-out donate to MS Focus, so I decided to try and raise money with an MS walk. I had done some small fundraising events with my Girl Scouts and with a pet therapy group I belonged to, but nothing that compared to what I was about to embark on with this event.” “It did horribly – raised about $100 total – but I learned so much.” Samara wouldn’t give up and vowed to turn a negative into a positive. “I heard so many ‘no’s,’ but I took them as a challenge. I was going to make a difference somehow.” Overthepastdecade,Samarahasorganized numerous fundraisers, all in the name of helping MS Focus. “I didn’t think about raising awareness for MS Focus, or MS itself (at the time, it was all about the money), but raising awareness has become just as important as raising money to me.” Samara’s efforts have grown every year Samara Wolf