MS Journey #5

Get involved

Five years after diagnosis I went on long term disability so I figured it would be a good fit to volunteer at the MS Society. I started by doing odd administrative jobs and later I joined the peer support program. This program is meant to provide information and support to fellow MS’ers about the disease. It felt good that my MS experience could actually help someone understand something or provide information that helps them to make a decision.

I also joined the friendly visitor program which pairs you up with someone who can’t get out or needs a friend to talk to. I joined this program for two reasons. The first reason was to hopefully provide some friendly conversation and support and the second was because it scared the B’jesus out of me. I am useless when it comes to small talk and I avoid it as much as possible. So I figured I could potentially help someone and face my fears at the same time.

I was paired with a man around the same age as me who was in a long care facility for old folks – he was not old. He was a long haul semi truck driver and liked to play crib. I had forgotten how to play crib so he retaught me and we would meet weekly, play crib and chat. One of the jobs I had when I was working was managing a consolidation and trucking centre. So as it turns out we had something in common to talk about – who’d a thought.

This man shared a room with another person and one day I came to visit and the other person was not there. I asked my friend where he was and he told me that he had died. This happened again and again – not a positive environment for someone to live. MS can be a devastating diagnosis but most of us are not expected to die because of it.

I’m still useless at small talk but meeting this man sent me on a different tack.

I inquired with the person in charge of Social Action (later changed to Government Relations) at the MS Society and to make a long story short – I joined the Social Action committee and over a period of about three years we were able to work with 15 other disability organizations and the Manitoba government to provide an accessible place with 24 hour on site staff where a place like my friend and others would be eligible to stay. I am not taking credit for this as all the hard work was done by many other people. It’s just a story of timing, an idea, and a bunch of people working towards a goal.

I also joined the Manitoba MS Society’s Board of Directors and when I moved to Victoria I joined the Victoria, and then the BC and Yukon Board of Directors. On the board we are responsible for budgets, services, fundraising, and so on. It’s a place where ideas and passions can and do make a difference.

I met lots of amazing people volunteering most of whom had a connection in some way to MS but not all. One gentleman’s wife had a rare disease that there was no support organization for. So he did some research and he decided to volunteer for the MS Society.

It’s my experience anyone can make a difference. All you need is to be passionate about something and just get involved. It’s a mutually beneficial proposition.