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Walk MS Superheroes

Liz: Looking for the Silver Lining

Walk MS Superhero - Liz
 

I’m an athlete—that’s just the way it is.

I was a softball pitcher starting at the age of seven. Middle school, high school, travel ball—you name it, I pitched it. After pitching my way through California Baptist University in Riverside, CA, I returned to my roots, this time coaching middle and high school at Santa Fe Christian Schools in Solana Beach, CA. When I coached at Rim of the World High School in Lake Arrowhead, CA, we won back-to-back championships.

I married my husband, Micah, on August 1, 2009, and was diagnosed with MS on August 26, 2010. You’ve got to laugh—we do! During that year I was coaching our team toward our second league championship, all the while being a full-time manager at Subway. It was a lot to handle.

Now I volunteer at Santa Fe Christian Schools. I love the sport, love the girls and their parents.

I came down with Bells Palsy a month before I got married.

The left side of my face was paralyzed, so my doctor put me on Primidone so I’d be able to smile at my wedding. It went away after two months, but my doctor’s suspicion that it was a precursor to MS turned out to be correct. It became hard to walk, and hard to work. I grinned through it like nothing was wrong, fighting it all the way.

Micah and I moved to Encinitas, CA, to be closer to my doctors and my family. I had done Walk MS once at Legoland before I was even diagnosed. I love that walk; now I’ve done it four times with my own team. We’re Team Lizard Chasers: “Lizard” for my nickname, and “Chasers” because Micah was always chasing me!

 
Walk MS Superhero - Liz
 

The support from our Walk MS team—made up of family, friends, and friends of friends—has been amazing.

 

We started out with 4 walkers and grew to 83 last year. Last year’s softball team came out, and even the kids’ parents got involved. I couldn’t believe how many people walked with me, because these days, I’m a volunteer rather than an official coach. Last year we all wore orange tutus, even my dad!

I’ve loved every single bit of it. The Pacific Coast chapter of the MS Society is terrific. It’s so important to meet and talk to other people living with MS, because it’s different for everyone.

Sometimes it feels like people don’t want to know about MS—they don’t want to deal with it. They look at you like “What’s wrong with you? Did you get in an accident? Did you have surgery?” Some people act like it’s contagious.

Just recently, I received a power wheelchair to help me get around, and it has been a real blessing—I’ve become much more independent. I can get out of the house to watch sports. I can get my nails done, get groceries, or go out for sushi or Starbucks. I may have MS, but it doesn’t have me.

I want others living with MS to find the silver lining because it’s always there; you just have to look for it. I’m very strong willed—for me, it’s just another bump in the road.

My name is Liz, and I live with MS.

Who’s Your Walk MS Hero?

Share their (or your) story on your Walk MS personal web page. Then post it on Facebook and ask your friends to make a donation. Together, we will beat MS. Together, we are stronger.

 
 

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