b'MS Focus ActivitiesA mIIGGiivviinnggBBaacckkEEnnoouugghh??AmBy Marcia HarrisWhen I had brain surgery in 1996, I toldShe has been training on a special bicycle to my pastor that if I made it through, I wouldride from Indianapolis to Canonsburg, Pa., give back. The arachnoid cyst on my brainfrom Sept. 27-29, and hopes to raise $5,000, was benign and, with time and therapy, I waswhich she has already exceeded. Yikes! That back to myself in a few months. The promiseis more than 340 miles according to Google I made resonated in my head and heart andMaps. Every day she posts on Facebook who after a discussion with my husband, we decidedshe dedicates her training ride to; all are either to become foster parents. cancer survivors or those who have passed.Perhaps this was more my idea than hisWe have a client who has MS and despite because, in the end, our marriage did not last.having problems with numbness in her hands, But for ve years, we had more than 35 childrenshe does third-party fundraising and has a basket in and out of our housesome for a night or two,raffle to raise money for MS Focus every year. some for weeks or months, and some for a fewAll year long, Traci Ceras receives donations years. We adopted three sibling boys that cameor purchases items in advance on sale or with from parents with a history of drugs, alcohol,coupons and saves them until her event. She and domestic violence. While only one childhas single-handedly raised thousands of dollars appeared to have special needs, it was evident,for MS Focus. by their teenage years, the two other boys wereWe have several support group leaders and also victims of their birth parents drug andco-leaders who also have MS, and despite their alcohol addiction.health problems, they continue to give by being However, this article is not about my children,great role models. As I have told new clients it is about giving back. Despite adopting the boys,who inquire about starting a group, being a raising them on my own after my ex-husbandleader is committing to volunteering. There moved, all while working full-time at MS Focus:is no reward greater than giving back, and the Multiple Sclerosis Foundation since 2015,that is what support group leaders do. Among I nd myself asking, Why do I feel like I amthe many support group leaders I talk to, I not giving back like others do?would like to thank a few who consistently My friend Karen works at a pharmaceuticalstay in touch with me and their members: company on the west coast of Florida. KarenDesiree, Daniel, Shannon, Deborah, Lisa, Cindy, is very athletic and always doing somethingDeborah, Jill, Ken, Gregory, Rachel, Wanda, active.Karenisparticipatinginthe2024Tracy, Melanie, and Stephanie. If I have not Coast 2 Coast 4 Cancer for the V Foundation.listed your name, I apologize. These are just msfocusmagazine.org 34'