Kate Meyer
Walk MS: Twin Cities Ambassador, diagnosed in 2005
What do you remember most about being diagnosed?
Being so young, my first thought was that I was going to become handicapped. I wasn’t educated about MS, so I believed I would be in a wheelchair by the time I was 40. On the positive side, I had been in and out of hospitals for five years and had endured numerous tests, some of which were painful and had been misdiagnosed several times. I had a sense of relief that I finally had a name for the disease that had been affecting me and now I could focus on the future.
Why do you participate in Walk MS?
I was diagnosed with MS the month I graduated from college, the month my life was supposed to officially begin. I was ready to spread my wings and fly. I did start to fly, just not in the direction I had planned. I realized I was not alone in my flight and there were thousands of others flying along with me. This motivated me to become a part of something that could help find the cure that would help me and all the others get back on the flight plan we always dreamed of.
What do you enjoy most about the walk?
It brings people of all different walks of life together for one day to fight for a cure whether it affects these people directly or not. The kindness and compassion people show motivates me to continue doing everything I can to help find a cure.
What is the one thing I wish people could understand about MS?
MS has no face. It has no age, it has no sex, it has no race and it has no religion. It could affect any of us at anytime. I think MS could sometimes be called the “invisible” disease because although people have it, it may not always be obvious.