Find a Cure for a "Funny
Sounding Disease"
by Angela Hume
Shannon
Hoelzel, ambassador for the 2006 Christopher & Banks MS Walk
presented by Serono/Pfizer, wants to help find a cure for multiple
sclerosis. And by educating other people about MS, Hoelzel knows
she can play a vital role in fighting the disease.
A Plymouth, MN, native,
Hoelzel joined the fight against MS as a little girl. She remembers
sitting on the lap of a woman from church while the woman explained
why she used a scooter. Hoelzel didn’t
understand how her friend could have an illness. She said, “I
remember thinking, ‘Multiple sclerosis? What a weird name.
My friend doesn’t look sick to me.’” It was then
that Hoelzel decided she wanted to help find a cure for her friend’s “funny-sounding
disease.”
Today, Hoelzel is 27
years old. She’s still fighting MS. But
now she’s doing it for another reason—MS is her disease,
too. As a child participating in National MS Society fund-raisers,
she never would have guessed that at 26 years old, she herself would
receive a MS diagnosis.
Hoelzel first knew something
was wrong when she started experiencing fatigue during college. “I drifted from major to major, year
after year,” she recalled. “When the migraine headaches
started, I moved home to Minneapolis.”
After seeing several
doctors, Hoelzel was left with no explanation. In an attempt to
move forward, she refocused her energy on physical fitness. “I gained five pounds of pure muscle in three months,” she
said. “I was in the best shape of my life.”
But then Hoelzel’s vision started to blur and double. Fatigue
began to interfere with her workout routine. In December 2004, after
a visit to a neurologist, she received an explanation—multiple
sclerosis.
In the months that followed,
Hoelzel began to learn to balance her MS symptoms with other aspects
of her life. “Fatigue has been
a challenge,” she admitted. “I usually feel like I’m
in a fog.” She has learned to manage her fatigue by taking
naps and going to bed early.
Also, Hoelzel said her
worldview has changed. “MS has taught
me that life is uncertain. But I don’t take my health for granted
anymore. I stay positive.”
Despite her symptoms,
Hoelzel isn’t letting MS stop her from
doing the things she loves to do, like water sports and camping.
This summer, she hopes to hike to the bottom of the Grand Canyon
and then back up.
Today Hoelzel looks
forward to going back to school to prepare for a career in healthcare.
In addition, she is taking action by working with the National
MS Society, Minnesota Chapter to spread awareness of MS. “I want to make a difference, and I want a cure for
MS,” she says. “I believe there is another little girl
out there who knows without a doubt that someday she’ll help
find a cure for this funny-sounding disease.”
Join the Fight Against
MS
Meet Shannon Hoelzel
at the Christopher & Banks MS Walk presented
by Serono/Pfizer Sunday, May 7, in the Twin Cities. For more information,
visit www.theMSwalk.com or
call 1-800-FIGHT-MS.
