Man continues personal drive to fundraise for MS Society.
Pictou County man fundraising for virtual MS Walk in honour of his late wife
He hopes that through fundraisers like the annual MS Walk, research will produce a solution to the problems his wife lived with. He’s grateful for how good people in both Pictou County and throughout other places in Canada and even the U.S. have been to donate to the cause.
Sheldon Patriquin thinks of his late wife often.
Shirley passed away in 2008 from complications associated with Multiple Sclerosis. Despite the years that have passed since her death, her life and her battle with M.S. remain fresh with Patriquin and he remains determined to do what he can to help.
Every year Patriquin takes part in the MS Walk in Pictou County. This year is his 20th year and over that time he’s personally raised in excess of $107,000 with the support of individuals and businesses.
This year, like last year, won’t be a traditional in person event because of the COVID pandemic which continues to restrict the ability for large groups to gather, but Patriquin plans on fundraising as usual and going to their traditional site for the walk the day of the event, May 26, to do his part.
He believes it’s important to raise money for the MS Society of Canada because it could help create better treatments or even a cure for the disease that robbed his wife of her later years.
He remembers for Shirley it all began with a tingling in her legs when she was about 47. A doctor diagnosed her with a spinal infection and prescribed steroids. That seemed to work for a while, but then the tingling returned months later. Further testing showed that Shirley had MS.
MS is unique in that it can affect different people at very different paces.
Unfortunately Shirley’s MS was fast progressing.
She quickly lost the ability to walk and soon lost mobility in her arms.
“She was totally bedridden after a year,” Patriquin said. “She lost pretty well the use of her arms and legs. She couldn’t do the things she loved to do so much.”
Her hobbies of sewing and cross stitch as well as reading helped pass time for her for a while, but the MS caused her eye sight to deteriorate to the point she couldn’t do that either. She would listen to audio tapes she got from the library after that.
During the course of her battle, Patriquin, would administer her medication called Betaseron. He estimates he gave her about 2,050 injections of it.
“The MS seemed to keep evolving and evolving,” he said. “I can’t say that it did her any good, but we certainly didn’t want her to be without it.”
He hopes that through fundraisers like the annual MS Walk, research will produce a solution to the problems his wife lived with. He’s grateful for how good people in both Pictou County and throughout other places in Canada and even the U.S. have been to donate to the cause.
“People are just so good,” he said.