Marathon
Strides Against MS
Read
an Inspiring Story - Gayle Temple
Gayle Temple has become
our most recent Marathon Strides Against MS Champion! Her
story is truly inspiring and shows that all the effort that
you put into fund raising makes a big difference.
Gayle’s
Story
It was late December of 1999. My husband, John, and I were on our way to Myrtle
Beach, South Carolina, to celebrate the millennium. We were both excited and
really looking forward to the break after a very busy Christmas season.
Well – it was one
of those trips that took an interesting twist, to say the
least. We were only a few hours away from our destination
when, very suddenly, I lost almost half the vision in my
left eye. Strangest thing – I kept thinking that my
glasses must be filthy and I was furiously cleaning them
over and over again! Even with all my efforts, my vision
did not clear up. In fact, it got progressively worse, finally
stopping at a loss of close to 60 percent.
Initially,
I decided to ignore it. I didn’t even tell my husband right away,
but of course I did within a few days. Ultimately, it was
when I not-so-gracefully careened into a display stand at
the local Walmart we decided I should visit the on-site Optomotrist
and have my eye checked right away. Over the years, we have
both joked about my clumsiness, but this time…? After
a bunch of tests, the Doctor very delicately suggested I
get tested for MS when we got home. Did she know something
we didn’t? Ouch. Really big ouch.
Eventually,
I went to see my GP for a routine physical and I casually
mentioned
I had had some trouble with eye. I reluctantly gave her the
test results she requested from Myrtle Beach, and I was in
seeing a Neurologist - very quickly. I then had an MRI done
- very quickly, and was in having the “life changing” chat
with him and my husband – very quickly. Reality check
- huge big ouch this time.
Yes, it took me about a year to slowly come out of denial.
A lot of different circumstances contributed, but I feel
it was the bad patch I went through just
over one year ago that forced me to snap out of it. I relapsed, suffering with
extreme fatigue, numbness on my left side, loss of bladder control, and so
on… This continued for 3 months. I had also had a recurring bout with
my left eye again a number of months prior. All of these issues forced me to
recognize my situation. So, I cried, and I felt horrible and sorry for myself.
And then I cried again. And again. I cried until I had no more tears. And then
I decided I wanted to do something about it. Something, anything – I
didn’t really know what, but I knew I had to begin taking charge of my
MS or else it could potentially take charge of me.
So
I joined my local recreation center in Pickering. I was determined
to regain control of
my body and improve my overall health, within my personal
limits. I signed up for a physical assessment almost immediately
and was very fortunate to connect with a trainer who took
a great interest in my health and exercise as it related
to MS. Matt worked with me patiently and steadily until we
felt I had developed a safe and solid routine for strength,
flexibility and co-ordination. He is still a huge source
of motivation to me every time I see him – thanks Matt
and thanks to all of my other friends and supporters at the
club!
My
health today has never been better. I still have symptoms
and they are definitely
a pain in the butt! However, I’m tolerant of them now.
If I drop something, I usually laugh it off, and if I trip
or lose my balance, I always claim that it’s not really
me, it’s my first cousin “Walinda” visiting
temporarily. I always try to keep a sense of humor - if you
look hard enough, there really is humor in almost everything.
For
now, MS is a lifelong companion, but hopefully not forever.
Daily it challenges
me, and once in a while, it does get the upper hand - but
only once in a while. I enjoy a challenge, and this is certainly
a big and unpredictable one. Living life never knowing what
tomorrow will bring was initially very threatening and scary
for me. I’m a planner and, for the most part, I like
to be in control. However, I’m now well past that – living
with unpredictability has actually become quite intriguing.
There is a delicious sense of surprise to each and every
morning and this revised attitude has allowed me to become
more appreciative of my “good” days, and definitely
more relaxed and tolerant of myself during the “bad” ones.
Yes,
I like a challenge. Other than MS, the really big challenge
I have facing me
now is running. (I use the word running very loosely – a
peppy jog/walk is more like it for me!) I used to golf a
fair bit, but I’m not that great a golfer anymore,
and frankly I never really was. So, instead of beating myself
up trying to do something all the time I was struggling with,
I decided to try different things. I still golf, but now
I’m running as well. I look pretty funny as I run,
though, because my left side is weaker and less responsive
than my right. However, I get into my little rhythm with
my CD player blaring and off I go. I’m feeling so much
stronger physically and emotionally now that I’ve even
registered to run a half marathon on May 25, with the ultimate
goal of running the Canadian International Marathon on October
19. I don’t care how long it takes me – I want
to give it my very best effort to know that, if nothing else,
I tried my best. Somehow, I know that getting through these
two runs will be such an accomplishment for me, I’ll
be able to face and deal with any curve ball life may throw
me in the future.
Clearly,
it’s not
just one thing that has helped me get to this positive spot
in my life. It’s everything combined – therapy,
a healthy lifestyle physically and emotionally, a wonderful
family, an understanding and fantastic employer and a great
network of friends and supporters. Wow – I am a very
lucky lady after all.
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