MS Otago is inviting local people of all ages and abilities to put their best foot forward during a day of family fun at Wingatui Race Course this Sunday.
The "Move for MS" event, which will run from 11am-2pm, will include a chance to get on to the race track for fun run/walk "races" of 1km, 3km and 5km, as well as enjoying a community carnival.
Alongside the races there will be food trucks, market stalls, community stalls, face painting, bouncy castles, carnival games, outdoor games, certificate decorating, a paper plane competition and a swing riot taster class.
The Move for MS event is the brainchild of MS Otago community connector Katie Burns and aims to raise funds to support the organisation’s work in Dunedin and across Otago as well as raising awareness about multiple sclerosis.
"We wanted to have a movement event that would be accessible and fun, so that everyone can take part — whether they want to run, walk, dance, jump or use wheels to get around the track," Ms Burns said.
MS Otago president Lorraine Johnston said the funds raised through the Move for MS event entry fees would help the organisation to support more than 250 people with multiple sclerosis and related conditions across Otago.
Ms Burns is the only paid employee of the organisation, which is based on the second floor of Dunedin Community House in Princes St, and undertakes home visits across the region as well as helping to run community-based support groups.
"The people I visit can range from a person who has been newly diagnosed with MS to someone who has lived with it for 50 years," Ms Burns said.
"Most of what we deal with is symptom management — especially for those who have been diagnosed for less than two years, and for people who are progressing."
Ms Burns said MS New Zealand research showed that the rate of MS was 3.8 times higher in the lower South Island than the North Island, it also affected three times as many women as men, and could take five years from the onset of symptoms to diagnoses.
"The symptoms can vary very widely, as MS affects the central nervous symptoms in different ways in different people."
The most common symptoms of early MS were optic neuritis — blurring or double vision, and eye pain; cognition issues — fatigue, brain fog, and memory loss; and mobility issues — loss of muscle tone affecting strength and balance. Stress can exacerbate symptoms.
For Ms Johnston, who has had MS for 28 years, the first symptom was a loss of feeling in the toes of her left foot.
However, she felt "very lucky" that, despite being affected by fatigue and some balance issues, she has retained reasonable mobility.
"For me, it’s all about keeping a balance and managing things, and acknowledging that how you feel can change from day to day."
Improvements in medications available for people with MS — particularly relapsing-remitting — had also been very helpful for many people, Ms Burns said.
• The MS Otago "Move for MS" event will be held this Sunday from 11am-2pm, at Wingatui Race Course. For details on entry fees and tickets, visit https://events.humanitix.com/move-for-ms
To contact MS Otago, email katie.burns@msotago.org.nz, or phone (03) 455-5894, or 027 880 9035.
