Multiple Sclerosis or “MS” is a crippling disease that is currently being fought on many fronts. The week of March 11 to 17 is “MS Awareness Week.”

The Mayo Clinic website describes MS this way, “Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a potentially disabling disease of the brain and spinal cord (central nervous system).

In MS, the immune system attacks the protective sheath (myelin) that covers nerve fibers and causes communication problems between your brain and the rest of your body. Eventually, the disease can cause the nerves themselves to deteriorate or become permanently damaged.

Signs and symptoms of MS vary widely and depend on the amount of nerve damage and which nerves are affected. Some people with severe MS may lose the ability to walk independently or at all, while others may experience long periods of remission without any new symptoms.

There’s no cure for multiple sclerosis. However, treatments can help speed recovery from attacks, modify the course of the disease and manage symptoms.”

MS Awareness Week is a good way to become more aware and better understand this disease. It is also an opportunity to promote fundraising efforts to help fight the disease.

Even though it is only March, it is not too soon to think about being a part of the MS Walk to be held on Saturday, May 5.

Lana Encke, along with her fellow co-worker at Jersey Shore State Bank, Christine Bryan, are very active in efforts to promote and participate in the MS Walk. Encke has been involved with it for 17 years.

Encke said the aim of the walk is a fundraising event for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society to raise money for programs for those who have been diagnosed with MS, and for research to find a cure for the disease. There has been a lot of progress made in the last several years. The walk is also to educate the public and make them aware of ongoing need.

Asked how she became involved in the MS Walk said, “I was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis in November of 1999. In the spring of 2000 I thought, I can’t just sit here and wait for a cure so I formed a team called the Miracle Seekers. The team is made up of family, friends, and employees of Jersey Shore State Bank. We have donated over $21,000 since it was started. Some of our team fundraisers are bake sales, basket raffles, and Dine to Donate at Perkins. As an employee of Jersey Shore State Bank, I am very grateful that the Bank matches the total of what we raise for our bake sales each year. The people at the Kast Hotel have also been wonderful in helping to support the MS Walk.”

She continued, “The MS walk for me is something that I need to do so that maybe in my lifetime we all can be free of this terrible disease. I want the public to know that the symptoms of MS are not always visible. Many that have been diagnosed are not able to walk without some assistance but others may have symptoms that cannot be seen on the outside. If you have MS or know someone that has it please let them know that the National Multiple Sclerosis Society is here to help. You can go online at http://www.nationalmssociety.org for more information regarding, what is MS, symptoms and diagnosis, treating MS, What research is being done, and how you can get involved.”

If anyone is interested in walking in the MS Walk they can go to the website http://www.nationalmssociety.org to register for the walk or come to the Pennsylvania College of Technology on Saturday, May 5, 2018 to register and walk with them.

There is also another MS fundraiser for a different MS Walk team coming up. “Candi’s Crazy Crew” will be hosting a buffet dinner with dancing and karaoke. The event is April 7th from 5:00 p.m.-10:00 p.m. at the Gamble Farm Inn in Jersey Shore. There will also be a Chinese auction and cash bar. Cost is $25 per person and you can contact Tonya Chopick for tickets and information at 570-772-9136.