THUNDER BAY -- Multiple sclerosis is an unpredictable disease.
“Sometimes your diagnosis is not always good in the beginning but if you get on the new drugs … you can do really well if you have MS,” said Carol Voth, treasurer of the local chapter of the Multiple Sclerosis Society of Canada, of drugs developed in the last 10 years to treat the neurological disease.
Voth was on hand Wednesday afternoon at the official opening of the Multiple Sclerosis Society Park located within Junot Park.
Within the park is a bench dedicated to the memory of the Voth’s sister Penny, who was diagnosed in 1987 with MS. She died in 2010 of cardiac problems.
“There are over 100,000 people in Canada and we have the highest rate in the world of MS here in Canada,” she said.
MS Society local chapter board chairwoman Linda Adamson said they’ve been working on having the park installed for three years.
It was made possible through the city’s community partnership funding.
Adamson said they chose the spot in Junot Park for its visibility.
“It’s on a busy street. The other thing was the accessibility factor. We wanted people to be able to park and come along the path and be able to see it and use it,” she said.
The idea for the park came from a board member’s spouse had MS; he wanted a space that would commemorate people who have had the disease and also be used for the society’s various events, including their annual picnic.
