Driving a spike at multiple sclerosis
Standing on the sidelines, hands on hips, Melissa Lane yells out encouragement to players during the fifth annual Serves for
Nerves beach volleyball tournament that was held at Lakeside Park Saturday.
Her smile dries up the damp conditions from an early morning rain that has left the beach hard, hair plastered to their heads and mud sticking to their limbs.
“We’ve got to be here you’ve got to tough it out, for volleyball players unless it’s thunderstorms you gotta keep going,” says organizer Ryan Cecchini.
“We started five years ago,” says Cecchini. “Melissa was diagnosed six years ago with MS (multiple sclerosis) and the year after we decided to run an event and try to make it bigger and bigger on our own.”
Says Lane, “It’s amazing to see how far we’ve come but also to see how far research for MS has come.
“Even for me, every step. I started to have to give myself needles every day then I got pills, which was great, and now I have a new one that has made me be able to come to play.
“I played last year, wasn’t so fantastic, but that’s fine.”
She’s come to a far cry from her diagnosis, and she’s very thankful to the MS Society of Niagara.
“They’ve been incredibly helpful for me from the day I was diagnosed they were welcoming when I went in. I didn’t know anything about MS I didn't know what to do. I was just in tears. They were like: ‘We’ll help you out.’
“Six years ago I had a cane,” says the 28-year-old. “I couldn’t work, couldn’t drive, I work a full-time job now, and I drive myself to work every day; it’s leaps and bounds.”
Cecchini says the event raised about $2,000 this year with the biggest turnout in terms of teams.
“It goes partially towards the research end and also to MS Niagara.”
“We just like to give back to the Niagara region and, obviously, the Niagara chapter is close to our heart, the main focal point for Melissa.
“It’s great for people in Niagara to know that help is available here,” she says.
Looking towards an even bigger year, Cecchini hopes for even more teams.
“We advertise it that you can have any skill level from never playing before to being an expert volleyball player.
“All you have to do is have fun and help a good cause.”