Mar 11, 2009
Governor's office proclaims Multiple Sclerosis Awareness Week
Carla Koss
March 4, 2009—Wilmington, DELAWARE The Delaware Chapter of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society announced today that Governor Jack A. Markell and Lieutenant Governor Matthew Denn have declared the week of March 2–8, 2009, as MS Awareness Week. The nationwide campaign promotes MS advocacy, participation in Walk MS and Bike MS, and informational outlets for each chapter’s programs and services. In Delaware, New Castle County Executive Christopher A. Coons kicked off MS Awareness Week with a proclamation, and Lt. Gov. Denn will sign the governor’s proclamation this Thursday, March 5, at a Walk MS rally at the Hearts & Minds Cinema, 954 South Madison Street in Wilmington from 5:30 to 7:30 P.M.
“We like what it says about our little state,” says Chapter President Kate Cowperthwait, “that the state’s governor, lieutenant governor, and county executive have all carved time out of their busy schedules to proclaim this week as MS Awareness Week. Their involvement says, not only do they care about the more than 1,500 Delawareans who have been diagnosed with MS, but they also want to help end this debilitating and unpredictable disease—now!”
For more information, call (302) 655-5610, or visit www.MSdelaware.org.
About multiple sclerosis
Every hour in the United States, someone is newly diagnosed with MS. Most are diagnosed between the ages of 20 and 50—during life’s most productive years—and more than twice as many women are diagnosed as men. MS affects more than 400,000 Americans.
Multiple sclerosis is an unpredictable, often disabling disease of the central nervous system that interrupts the flow of information from the brain to the body. Symptoms range from tingling and numbness in the limbs to blindness and paralysis. In other words, MS stops people from moving.
Although the progress, severity, and specific symptoms of MS cannot be predicted, advances in research and treatment are moving us closer to a world free of MS. Studies show that early and ongoing treatment with an FDA-approved therapy can reduce future disease activity and improve the quality of life for many people with MS.
About the National Multiple Sclerosis Society
The National Multiple Sclerosis Society is a collective of passionate individuals who are
• moving together to create a world free of MS.
• moving research forward by relentlessly pursuing prevention, treatment, and a cure.
• moving to reach out and respond to individuals, families, and communities living with MS.
• moving politicians and legislation to champion the needs of people with MS through activism, advocacy, and influence.
• moving to raise $1.25 billion by 2010 to help create a world free of MS.
• moving to mobilize the millions of people who want to do something about MS now.
To this end, the National MS Society funds more MS research, provides more services to people with MS, offers more professional education, and furthers more advocacy efforts than any other MS organization in the world. Through a 50-state network of chapters—including the Delaware Chapter—the Society addresses the challenges of living with the disease.
For more information, call (302) 655-5610, or visit www.MSdelaware.org.