KELLY OSWALD / FLIN FLON REMINDER
MAY 23, 2015
http://www.thereminder.ca/news/local-news/ms-diagnosis-spurs-flin-flon-woman-s-advocacy-1.1944079
Having lived with multiple sclerosis for more than a dozen years, Alison Dallas has learned to put her disease into perspective.
“You’re not MS, it’s just a part of you,” says Dallas, admitting that it took time for her to reach that conclusion.
Since her diagnosis, Dallas has become a strong voice for the MS community and an active participant in fundraisers to move research closer to a cure.
The Parkland chapter of the MS Society, which encompasses Flin Flon, continues to be the top contributor to MS research in Manitoba.
Flin Flon alone has contributed more than $120,000 over the past 11 years for the Walk to End MS.
This year’s walk, organized by Dallas, is scheduled for May 31 at Bakers Narrows Provincial Park.
The walk is open to everyone, though Dallas especially encourages those diagnosed with MS to participate.
“When people come out to walk, they feel empowered, they have some control,” she says. “They are fighting their disease in a positive way, not only for themselves, but for, say, someone who can’t walk.”
Dallas says the goal is always to find a cure with the money raised.
“But in the meantime we need to have programs, financial assistance, med assistance and advocacy,” she adds, referring to services provided by the MS Society.
Raising funds
Dallas was diagnosed with MS on January 11, 2002. That year, she first participated in the Walk to End MS in The Pas and then started Flin Flon’s walk the following year.
Money raised from past walks has helped fund new research at the MS clinic in Winnipeg, located in the Health Science Centre, as well as support programs in Flin Flon.
“I like the idea that I can honestly look at people and say this is where your money is going,” Dallas says. “It’s pretty amazing. It’s amazing to think that [the] $20 you donated is helping to fund a stem cell research project.”
The stem cell research project is currently underway in both Winnipeg and Ottawa with area individuals potentially able to benefit from the Manitoba clinic.
The stem cell research is unlike any other work done before, says Dallas.
“They are essentially pulling out your own [stem] cells, ‘cleaning’ them…and reintroducing them to your system to make it realize that it’s not working,” she says.
Locally, MS support groups are available in the community for those who are interested, whether it is someone diagnosed with the disease, a caregiver or family and friends.
Programs offered include peer counseling, stress reduction, telehealth conferences and the opportunity to rediscover life through fun activities like floral arrangement classes, chocolate making and yoga.
Talk openly
Dallas is one of about 45 people in the Flin Flon area diagnosed with MS, and was one of the first to openly talk about her diagnosis.
She continues to support those diagnosed as well as their families and friends in the lifelong journey of MS.
“This is not a sprint, this is a long-distance run,” she says. “This is every day for the rest of your life.”
When Dallas was diagnosed in 2002, she says it was common for a stigma to surround someone with MS.
She attended university in Winnipeg and kept her diagnosis a secret for the first two years of school, wanting to avoid the stigma.
Dallas opened up in her third year of university, to the surprise of many. From there, her diagnosis became very public, very quickly.
In 2010 Dallas underwent a controversial MS procedure in which a stent was placed in her neck to open her veins. Two years later, she returned to Poland to have the same surgery on the other side of her neck.
Though that procedure, known as chronic cerebrospinal venous insufficiency (CCSVI) treatment, continues to be controversial and cannot be performed in Canada, Dallas says the risk was worth taking.
“It gave me a better quality of life,” she says, acknowledging that it is not a permanent solution. “It comes to a quality of life when you’re dealing with a chronic illness.”
Post-surgery, Dallas became an advocate for the CCSVI treatment, joining a rally at the Manitoba legislature calling for the procedure to be brought to the province.
“I didn’t realize how much it was going to take over my life,” she says, referring to the media coverage both locally and provincially as well as the emails, phone calls and stops on the street she received.
Public face
Once her diagnosis was public, Dallas felt obligated to be a public face of MS – for a while.
“But then I went really quiet after that, even from the walk,” she says. “I needed that downtime.”
Dallas says while she needed time to recharge, she is glad she has been so public about her
diagnosis.
“Never for a second do I regret being open about it,” she says. “It has helped me and so many others.”
Fundraising walk
This year’s Walk to End MS will be held at Bakers Narrows Provincial Park on Sunday, May 31.
Registration will begin at 12 noon with the walk scheduled to start at 1:30 pm. A barbecue and local entertainment will follow.
Organizer Alison Dallas invites teams and individuals to register for the walk, which will follow the route of the campground trail and end with a barbecue.
She believes the walk is a chance for Flin Flon to show its true colours.
“I think we realize as a community that we’re helping everyone else and I really think that’s what Flin Flon is,” she says. “It’s a community that has really been aware that by helping others you’re making a stronger community.”
That’s exactly what the Walk to End MS is all about, Dallas says, referring also to local resident Tanya Benoit’s recent Monster Meat Draw for MS, which raised nearly $10,000.
© Copyright 2015 Flin Flon Reminder
- See more at: http://www.thereminder.ca/news/local-news/ms-diagnosis-spurs-flin-flon-woman-s-advocacy-1.1944079#sthash.0KeIlP6i.dpuf
MAY 23, 2015
http://www.thereminder.ca/news/local-news/ms-diagnosis-spurs-flin-flon-woman-s-advocacy-1.1944079
Having lived with multiple sclerosis for more than a dozen years, Alison Dallas has learned to put her disease into perspective.
“You’re not MS, it’s just a part of you,” says Dallas, admitting that it took time for her to reach that conclusion.
Since her diagnosis, Dallas has become a strong voice for the MS community and an active participant in fundraisers to move research closer to a cure.
The Parkland chapter of the MS Society, which encompasses Flin Flon, continues to be the top contributor to MS research in Manitoba.
Flin Flon alone has contributed more than $120,000 over the past 11 years for the Walk to End MS.
This year’s walk, organized by Dallas, is scheduled for May 31 at Bakers Narrows Provincial Park.
The walk is open to everyone, though Dallas especially encourages those diagnosed with MS to participate.
“When people come out to walk, they feel empowered, they have some control,” she says. “They are fighting their disease in a positive way, not only for themselves, but for, say, someone who can’t walk.”
Dallas says the goal is always to find a cure with the money raised.
“But in the meantime we need to have programs, financial assistance, med assistance and advocacy,” she adds, referring to services provided by the MS Society.
Raising funds
Dallas was diagnosed with MS on January 11, 2002. That year, she first participated in the Walk to End MS in The Pas and then started Flin Flon’s walk the following year.
Money raised from past walks has helped fund new research at the MS clinic in Winnipeg, located in the Health Science Centre, as well as support programs in Flin Flon.
“I like the idea that I can honestly look at people and say this is where your money is going,” Dallas says. “It’s pretty amazing. It’s amazing to think that [the] $20 you donated is helping to fund a stem cell research project.”
The stem cell research project is currently underway in both Winnipeg and Ottawa with area individuals potentially able to benefit from the Manitoba clinic.
The stem cell research is unlike any other work done before, says Dallas.
“They are essentially pulling out your own [stem] cells, ‘cleaning’ them…and reintroducing them to your system to make it realize that it’s not working,” she says.
Locally, MS support groups are available in the community for those who are interested, whether it is someone diagnosed with the disease, a caregiver or family and friends.
Programs offered include peer counseling, stress reduction, telehealth conferences and the opportunity to rediscover life through fun activities like floral arrangement classes, chocolate making and yoga.
Talk openly
Dallas is one of about 45 people in the Flin Flon area diagnosed with MS, and was one of the first to openly talk about her diagnosis.
She continues to support those diagnosed as well as their families and friends in the lifelong journey of MS.
“This is not a sprint, this is a long-distance run,” she says. “This is every day for the rest of your life.”
When Dallas was diagnosed in 2002, she says it was common for a stigma to surround someone with MS.
She attended university in Winnipeg and kept her diagnosis a secret for the first two years of school, wanting to avoid the stigma.
Dallas opened up in her third year of university, to the surprise of many. From there, her diagnosis became very public, very quickly.
In 2010 Dallas underwent a controversial MS procedure in which a stent was placed in her neck to open her veins. Two years later, she returned to Poland to have the same surgery on the other side of her neck.
Though that procedure, known as chronic cerebrospinal venous insufficiency (CCSVI) treatment, continues to be controversial and cannot be performed in Canada, Dallas says the risk was worth taking.
“It gave me a better quality of life,” she says, acknowledging that it is not a permanent solution. “It comes to a quality of life when you’re dealing with a chronic illness.”
Post-surgery, Dallas became an advocate for the CCSVI treatment, joining a rally at the Manitoba legislature calling for the procedure to be brought to the province.
“I didn’t realize how much it was going to take over my life,” she says, referring to the media coverage both locally and provincially as well as the emails, phone calls and stops on the street she received.
Public face
Once her diagnosis was public, Dallas felt obligated to be a public face of MS – for a while.
“But then I went really quiet after that, even from the walk,” she says. “I needed that downtime.”
Dallas says while she needed time to recharge, she is glad she has been so public about her
diagnosis.
“Never for a second do I regret being open about it,” she says. “It has helped me and so many others.”
Fundraising walk
This year’s Walk to End MS will be held at Bakers Narrows Provincial Park on Sunday, May 31.
Registration will begin at 12 noon with the walk scheduled to start at 1:30 pm. A barbecue and local entertainment will follow.
Organizer Alison Dallas invites teams and individuals to register for the walk, which will follow the route of the campground trail and end with a barbecue.
She believes the walk is a chance for Flin Flon to show its true colours.
“I think we realize as a community that we’re helping everyone else and I really think that’s what Flin Flon is,” she says. “It’s a community that has really been aware that by helping others you’re making a stronger community.”
That’s exactly what the Walk to End MS is all about, Dallas says, referring also to local resident Tanya Benoit’s recent Monster Meat Draw for MS, which raised nearly $10,000.
© Copyright 2015 Flin Flon Reminder
- See more at: http://www.thereminder.ca/news/local-news/ms-diagnosis-spurs-flin-flon-woman-s-advocacy-1.1944079#sthash.0KeIlP6i.dpuf