Growing up, Brian Chapman remembers knowing his two aunts had multiple sclerosis (MS) but not really knowing what it meant. “MS was just part of the family, an awkward member that is always there.”
Now that awkward “relative” MS has taken up residence in his own house. Chapman’s wife was diagnosed 12 years ago with relapsing remitting MS.
As Chapman has learned, the incurable disease affects every one of the 100,000 Canadians affected by MS a little differently. Chapman’s wife, for example, works full time, chases her five-year-old active daughter around, and spends weekends pushing her limits as much as possible.
“I have to remind myself that literally everything she does is harder for her than most people,” Chapman explains “If we want to go for a hike or go shopping, she struggles. A lot of days I have to remind her to slow down.”
Like many, Chapman’s wife appears completely healthy to an outside observer.
“And yet it affects every aspect of her life,” says Chapman. “Her work, how she sleeps, eats, interacts with her family. When we bought our house, we had to consider layout. But the people living next door would never know.”
While his wife’s challenges are relatively hidden, others may live with symptoms including partial paralysis, blindness, or dementia. Symptoms may get progressively worse, or may disappear for years at a time. For some, the disease’s unpredictability is the biggest challenge to overcome.
Aiming to match his wife’s unstoppable will at least in distance, Chapman has pledged to ride 10,000 km across Canada on an electric bicycle in 2018 to raise awareness about the prevalence of the disease.
“Every 100 metres I pass represents a person with MS,” says Chapman, adding that he’s even dubbed his website everyhundredmetres.com for that reason.
To prepare for this big ride, as well as the annual MS Bike event, Chapman, a Wayward Distillation House employee, cycled to every brewery on Vancouver Island in May – a 650 km journey that attracted a crew of cyclists and beer fans to keep him company at least part of the way.
With MS affecting such a diversity of people, it’s only natural that their families would come up with so many creative methods of support.
You can follow Chapman’s journey on his website at everyhundredmetres.com, and join him and hundreds of others cycling to end MS at the MS Bike Cowichan Valley on August 19 and 20, 2017.
For more information and to sign up visit, msbike.ca
About multiple sclerosis and the MS Society of Canada
Canada has the highest rate of multiple sclerosis in the world. MS is a chronic, often disabling disease of the central nervous system comprising the brain, spinal cord and optic nerve. It is one of the most common neurological young adults in Canada. Most people with MS are diagnosed between the ages of 15 and 40, and the unpredictable effects of MS last for the rest of their lives. The MS Society provides services to people with MS and their families and funds research to find the cause and cure for this disease. Please visit mssociety.ca or call 1-800-268-7582 to donate or for more information. Join the conversation and connect with the MS community online.
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