Hey everyone!

The National Multiple Sclerosis Society is a non-profit organization which funds research and provides assistance to those with Multiple Sclerosis, a neurological illness which destroys the nervous system in the brain and spinal cord.

Five years ago I, too, was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis after having a series of escalating symptoms for nearly a year before that. (well if you didn't know this beforehand, you do now! :) surprise!)

April 16, 2003 was the day that really did change my life forever. I spent the next three years finding ways to "deal" with it and learned how to cope with the disease itself as well as the "wonderful" side-effects of the weekly drug therapy. Thanks to the help of my doctors and nurses over the years, and with support from friends and family, I was able to find my way to a healthier lifestyle with an improved diet and basic exercise regiment. Only then was I eventually able to fully accept this illness. Coupled with my general health improvements and the truly "magic effects" of my drug therapy (AVONEX, www.avonex.com), my MS has relapsed only once in the past 5 years.

After I accepted this illness, I made the decision to not let it control me and instead I would fight back whenever I could, because others with this illness are not nearly as lucky as I am. I continued my exercise routine, maintained my diet, and attended all of the available seminars offered by the National MS Society. I also participated in fund raising efforts by other friends and colleagues, and now I'm taking my fight to the next level.

Each year the Eastern North Carolina chapter of the National MS Society hosts a 2-day bicycle ride, called BikeMS, in the city of New Bern, North Carolina. I will be riding with Team Inspire for the BikeMS event (www.bikems.org) and we will ride 150 miles (75 each day). To do this, each team member must raise funds for the National MS Society. Donations for this event are 100% tax-deductible since the National MS Society is a federal 501(c)3 non-profit group.

This year, the National MS Society has set their goal to raise $1,600,000 (yes, that's 1.6 million dollars!). I have set a personal goal of $1,500. I am asking for anyone to make any kind of donation of whatever amount they can swing. If you want to donate a certain amount, but can't do it all at once, you can make a small donation now and can come back later and donate again. Donations can be made online at my fund raising page here:

http://main.nationalmssociety.org/goto/duanetoler

Below my handsome picture (photo credit: Mark Williamson!) is the button labeled "Donate to Duane". Just click that and follow the instructions.

If you would rather send a check, you can hand-deliver it to me and I will promptly send it to the MS Society office in Raleigh, but please make it out to "National MS Society" and please be sure to write on the memo line "Bike MS - Duane Toler" so they will know to whom to credit the donation. Or, if you'd rather send a check yourself, that's fine too. You can send the check to:

National MS Society
Eastern NC Chapter
3101 Industrial Drive, Suite 210
Raleigh, NC 27609

But again, *PLEASE* write "BikeMS - Duane Toler" on the check's "Memo" line (otherwise the donation will be accredited to the general fund and I won't get the special golden turkey prize... well... assuming there actually is a golden turkey...)

Check out my fund raising page, and I would greatly appreciate any level of donation you can make. I know several of you have friends and people that I don't know, so please forward this message (or print it out and send it around the office) and spread the word. Please ask your employers if they would be willing to do a "matching donation" especially since you (now) know someone (or someone else) with this illness. If you do print this out, then you can use an alternate web address for my donation page instead of typing out the whole address above. The alternate address is http://tinyurl.com/4um3to and it will just redirect you to the same fund raising page automatically.

Thank you to everyone who has supported me and helped me over the years, and I know I can count on you all to help me take this fight against MS to the next level. With your help we can all wake up to a world one day where no one has to hear "You have MS".

--
Duane Toler