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WALK MS CHAMPION - MEGHAN MELONE

Walk MS Champion  Meghan Photo

 

Meghan Melone is the captain of team Ohana at the Northwest Suburbs – Palatine Walk MS.

Q: Tell me about being diagnosed with MS. What is your story? 

A: I was in eighth grade when I got optic neuritis and lost vision in my right eye for a few days. A year later while I was trick-or-treating on Halloween, my feet went numb. By the next morning, I couldn’t feel my thighs, and in the days following I became numb from the waist down. I couldn’t walk. My parents brought me to the hospital and the doctor looked at my history of optic neuritis and current symptoms. Following a spinal tap, I was diagnosed with MS. I immediately burst into tears. Initially it was difficult to view MS in a positive light, but I have since realized that having a positive attitude is one of the most important things I can do for myself.

Q: When you were diagnosed with this disease, did you know what MS was?

A: I did. My best friend’s aunt has had MS for over 20 years and has been in a motorized chair for as long as I can remember. I definitely had a moment of panic because I thought I was too young for this disease and I didn’t know what this meant for me in terms of the immediate future. I was able to meet other individuals who had different stages of MS, some who weren’t using wheelchairs, some who needed assistance walking, and some who seemed completely fine. So I do what I can to remain as healthy as possible.

Q: What does that entail?

A: Putting the right things into your body and having a healthy outlook on life. I’ve changed my diet intensely since being diagnosed. I am now a vegetarian and spend between 45 minutes to an hour and a half at the gym every day. Most importantly I try and always think positively.

Q: When did you get involved in Walk MS?

 A: After I was diagnosed in November 2004, my mom and I started to research opportunities that I could involve myself in immediately. I decided to gather my close friends and family to participate in Walk MS the following May. My friends and I were in our freshman year of high school at the time. We made our own T-shirts and my friend came up with our team name, “Ohana,” a term from the movie Lilo and Stitch meaning “Nobody gets left behind or forgotten.” In the next few years we incorporated my school’s National Honor Society. My teachers and mom’s colleagues began fundraising, and as our team matured, our ability to fundraise matured as well.

Q: Tell me a about your team – who joins the team and why?

 A: The team started out consisting of my core friends and family, but we have grown to include friends of friends, my mom’s work colleagues, new friends who would come back year after year, and kids from the National Honor Society. All of my teammates from the basketball, volleyball, and soccer teams would come, and even after we graduated, my friends would come home from college to participate in the Walk.

Q: Do you have any rituals that you with your team every year?

A: Our first year we planned on making a tradition out of painting silly nicknames on the back of each shirt. My nickname was Juicy. As our team grew we didn’t continue the nickname tradition, but now, nine years later, you can distinguish between the team’s original 25 members and the team members who have joined since by the nicknames on the shirts.

Q: Tell me about your fundraising strategy. How do you build your fundraising from year-to-year?

A: We fundraise a lot through social networking. I use facebook and twitter to reach out to people who I may have lost touch with. If I have known someone for a while I like to ask for a donation in-person. I’ve started asking small businesses to donate and I always let them know my story and exactly where the donations go. I’d like to start reaching out to bigger businesses and corporations this year. Last year we raised $13,000, our highest amount yet! Over the past nine years I believe we have surpassed a total of $50,000.

Q: Why do you walk?

A: I walk to give hope to others who are newly diagnosed with MS. It wasn’t easy to hear those words and I think by walking I can help others to find ways to be positive about their diagnosis.

Q: What is your best memory from your past involvement in Walk MS?

A: Two years ago a woman walked up to me, introduced herself, and asked why I was at the Walk, if I or one of my parents has MS. I told her my story and she thanked me and told me that her sister was just diagnosed and that they were both so inspired and thankful to see how happy I appeared. That was probably one of the best feelings I’ve ever had in my life. 

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