NEWS photo Cindy Goodman
EILEEN FITZPATRICK will be donating her feet to charity on
Sunday when she takes part in a waik to help raise money for
multiple sclerosis research.

IT’S HARD to think of
Eileen Fitzpatrick as some-
one who has rnultiple scle-
rosis (MS).

By Surj Rattan
News Reporter

The 25-year-old Lions Bay res-
ident looks relaxed dressed in a
T-shirt and sweat pants. She
smiles often and cracks jokes dur-
ing an interview.

Fitzpatrick has refused to let the
crippling disease get the best of
her. She is attending Capilano
College and plans to get a
Bachelor of Business degree from
Simon Fraser University.

In addition, she also works at a
testaurant and is self-employed
making banners for businesses.

With such a busy schedule,
Fitzpatrick understandably
becomes frustrated when she is
forced to take time out of her day
to take naps to deal with the fa-
tigue caused by multiple sclerosis.

“T find if I do too much I really
get tired, and it really makes me
mad because I've got so much to
do in this time frame and having
to stop and take naps is really
frustrating,’ says Fitzpatrick.

Multiple sclerosis is a disease of
the central nervous system that
affects the brain and spinal cord.
it affects the brain’s ability to
control walking, talking, seeing
and other important functions.

Fitzpatrick is one of the more
than 50,000 Canadians who have
MS. Between 30% and 40% of
those who have MS are confined

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Wednesday, April 1, 1992 - North Shore News - 39

to wheelchairs. And while Fitz-
patrick is still able to walk
without difficulty, she expects to
be forced to use a cane at some
point.

“lL haven't had to use one
(cane} yet, but in the future §
probably will have to. 1 can feet
days that maybe I should even use
one now,’ says Fitzpatrick. ‘‘I
have a friend who works in an an-
tique shop, and I’ve got her look-
ing for a nice handcrafted cane
for me. I figure if I'm going to do
it then I’m going to do it in
style."”

Fitzpatrick said the first sign
she had of MS was when part of
her face went numb one day after
playing racquetball. The numbness
soon went away, and she didn’t
think any more of it.

Then a couple of months later
she was in a wedding party, and
the next morning her feet went
numb.

“T thought it was just the new
shoes | was wearing, and then the
numbness went up my leg. My
toes were black because I kept
stubbing them and didn’t even
know it,’’ says Fitzpatrick.

Again, she did not go to a doc-
tor.

Fitzpatrick has had MS for the
past three years. But it was only
last year that the disease was
diagnosed in her. Fitzpatrick says
she only learned that she had MS
while watching television one
night.

1 think it was 60 Minutes or
something, and they had a woman

Saese

on who was confined to a
wheelchair.

“She had MS, and her first
symptoms were numbness in the
legs. 1 was watching this, and {
looked over at my mom and she
looked at me, and I decided that {
had better go to the doctor.”’

But even though doctors can
diagnose the disease, Fitzpatrick
says most doctors do not like to
tell people that they have MS.

“My doctor at first didn’t tell
me. I read in a book that they
don’t like telling you because they
think there’s no need for you to
know. I wish he had told me
earlier, because then I would have
taken better care of myself.

“I was crying so hard when 1
left the doctor’s office that 1
walked into a closed door,”
laughs Fitzpatrick.

There is no known cure for MS.
But Fitzpatrick says she wants one
found before she graduates from
SFU with her business degree.

Fitzpatrick and her family and
friends will take part in a fund-
raising walk on April 5 to raise
money for MS research.

Participants in the walk, which
will start from the Plaza of Na-
tions at the old Expo site in
downtown Vancouver at 8:30
a.m., will have to collect a mini-
mum of $50 in pledges. Cheques
should be made out to the M.S.
Super Cities Walk.

Pledge forms can be picked up-
at all McDonaid’s restaurants.

For more information call
437-3244, -

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