Rarey Surpassed Fundraising Goal for MS Walk Event

Here is some “happy news” for your Monday afternoon as I am glad to report that Karen Rarey was able to nearly double her fundraising goal for the Multiple Sclerosis Walk this past weekend in Walnut Creek with a total donation figure of $770–her goal was $400.

Rarey, who was diagnosed with MS last year, explained earlier this month that for years she had a variety of ailments but continued to push forward with her personal and community  goals.

“It made me feel like I was a hypochondriac – none of the symptoms seemed to be connected to each other. It wasn’t until my paralysis in 2010 that all of those ailments finally made sense, the diagnosis was multiple sclerosis,” said Rarey. “My MS is in the form of extreme head-to-toe pain on my right side and excessive fatigue. I may look great, but I feel like crap.”

Rarey said she saw a MS poster with a message that was spot on stating that “MS keeps people from moving and I’ve got places to go, things to do and people to see!” She knew she wanted to get involved and decided to give it a go right before the event.

During the walk, she had the support of her family ad comfort of others who deal with MS on a daily basis.

“I had my daughter and her boyfriend walking step-by-step with me. The 5K walk was amazing and really invigorating,” said Rarey.

Participants in the event wore a colored race bibs on their backs listing who they were walking for. The orange bibs denoted that the walker had MS, while the white ones were in honor of someone else.  She explained how there was a nice mix of both colors at the event.

“I couldn’t believe how many people were out there to support multiple sclerosis. It was like a never-ending stream of people walking, even as we drove away there was still people out there walking along Ygnacio Valley Road,” explained Rarey.

She had a modest goal of $400 since she signed up so close to the deadline, but family, friends and the community helped her nearly double that at total of $770 raised on her behalf.

“With the help of family and friends, I was able to raise $770 since registering for the race just 10 days earlier. I am truly blessed,” said Rarey.

For more on the MS Walk, visit their website