For Amanda Weinhardt it began as a persistent numbness and tingling covering the right side of her body. Believing she had had a stroke, Amanda sought emergency medical help. After several visits and increasing frustration, a CAT scan revealed the truth: She had MS. The diagnosis, which came in 2012, was devastating news.
“The doctor started to explain what MS was, but all I felt was fear,” she said. She spent the next six days in the hospital, undergoing further invasive, painful tests. Life for the young grandmother has not been the same since she learned of her illness.
“She used to take regular long walks over the hills nearby and now she can’t even attempt it anymore,” says husband, John. “Amanda fights a daily battle against fatigue, chronic pain and frustration at doing simple tasks.”
Still, Amanda is determined to do what she can to help others who share her plight. The Walk, Rock & Bowl event represents her desire to help people understand the disease while also seeking to raise funds for treatment. Amanda has found help and empathetic understanding via social networking groups online, such as “I Have MS” and “I’m Fabulous” on Facebook. The group has submitted several thousand names in support of her May event in Midvale, Ohio and most will be listed on a large banner to be displayed there. Amanda would like to find help in starting a local support group. “I am determined to do whatever I can, and to be as public about my illness as necessary,” she said.
