On Sunday, Jaime Dickson and some friends will go for a walk in the Aldergrove Regional Park as part of a Canada-wide virtual event to raise money for MS research.
Dickson, a mother of three who has lived in Aldergrove more than 20 years, was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis two years ago.
“I’m fortunate that I can still work and I’m still active,” Dickson told the Langley Advance Times.
“On good days, I’m totally fine,” while on bad days, she can have balance issues.
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Dickson has been raising funds since April and has more than doubled her goal of $150.
Contributions can be made online through her personal page on the MS Walk website.
This year, as a result of the pandemic and social distancing requirements, the annual event has become a 50K virtual fitness and fundraising challenge that can be completed anywhere, even in the home.
Dickson has already walked 47 of the 50 kilometres in the weeks leading up to the weekend, and on Sunday she will walk the final three kilometres with her friends.
She would like would-be donors to know that every dollar contributed between now and Sunday, May 30, will have double the impact on Canadians living with multiple sclerosis, because the amount will be matched, and given directly to the MS Society of Canada.
READ ALSO: VIDEO: Walking to fight MS
Every year, hundreds take part in Langley, among the more than 30,000 Canadians in 160 communities who raise millions of dollars for advancing MS research with new breakthrough discoveries, determining the unique causes of MS, and advocating for accessible and low-cost treatments.
Canada has one of the highest rates of MS in the world, with an estimated 90,000 Canadians living with the disease.
While it is most often diagnosed in young adults aged 20 to 49, younger children and older adults are also diagnosed with MS.
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