Mountainous effort buoys MS mum
A GOLDERS Green mum with multiple sclerosis has hit the heights by climbing Mount Etna to raise more than £75,000 to launch her MS Positive charity.
The money was double the original target of Toni Krok, who undertook the challenge with husband Dov and 25 friends and supporters.
They walked in excess of 60 kilometres in three days, ascending a total of two kilometres.
Ms Krok — who was diagnosed with MS 10 years ago — wants to help those “less well supported than I was who find it harder to be positive about living with MS”.
The charity — which Ms Krok is setting up with best friends Janine Oppenheim and Pam Pamensky — will support individuals and families in north London. It will offer a helpline staffed by people with MS, exercise and fitness classes and further support through a range of forums.
Reflecting on the Etna challenge, Ms Krok drew inspiration from explorer Sir Edmund Hillary’s quote that “it is not the mountain that we conquer but ourselves”.
She added: “Being alone with my thoughts as I climbed, I found a peacefulness with myself, my diagnosis and my life.
“Staying positive — focusing on what we can do rather than what we can’t — is what MS Positive is all about.
“MS affects everyone differently. We have good days and bad days and we can’t control that. But what we can control is how we respond to what we are going through.”
Coinciding with Mitzvah Day, the new charity will hold its first class on November 19 at 10am at the Kung Fu studios in St Albans Lane NW11. The class is free and open to anyone with MS and their family.