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My goal — a world free of multiple sclerosis.

My Pop-Pop and me, 1991.

I am fundraising for the National Multiple Sclerosis (MS) Society as a runner at the 2025 Chicago Marathon. My paternal grandfather, David A. Thomas II, had Multiple Sclerosis (MS). I will refer to him as Pop-Pop, as that is how I knew him. He was born in 1936 and passed away in 2013, due to MS. He was diagnosed in his early 40s, which would have been in the 1970s. At that time, it was miraculous that he was diagnosed as quickly as he was. His treatment options were limited, and his MS progressed rapidly. As a child, I remember Pop-Pop being shaky and unsteady, particularly on one side of his body. I recall it getting worse as he aged. When we went out to eat together, I could always expect a shaky fork, being held by him, to come over onto my plate for a bite of my food. The one thing my Pop-Pop was guaranteed to share was food. Through it all, he was not one to let his humor fade. The last time I saw him, he was wheelchair-bound.  It was electric and he sped ahead of me, grunted, and said “Come on kid, keep up!” I could swear he had the speed on that wheelchair adjusted!

Pop-Pop and my Grandmother Mimi, pre-diagnosis. 

When I was little, he explained to us grandchildren what was wrong with him. Later, I found out that was rare. I was told by a family member that he did not like to talk about his MS. Another family member described my Pop-Pop as not wanting to give in to his MS, so he rarely spoke about it. He would say, "My body is betraying me." He engaged in numerous experimental studies for MS. He even had brain surgery. He struggled to accept his diagnosis and worked tirelessly to engage in studies to find a cure. In some ways, this may have made his life more difficult. It is hard to know. Throughout it all, I was informed he did receive support from the National MS Society. When he passed, it was asked that donations be sent to the MS Society instead of flowers.Boatin' around with Pop-Pop, my dad, sister, and me. He loved boats and even owned a sailboat at one point.

Pop-Pop with my sister, early 90s.

When his first wife, my grandmother, passed away, things changed. Eventually, we did not see my Pop-Pop much, as he chose to live in another state full-time. It was hard as a teenager to understand this and, in many ways, I still do not. I know MS strained his relationship with others. How could it not? I wonder what he would have been like without the MS. Would we have been closer? Would he have stayed near his grandchildren? I do not know. What I do know is MS took a part of him, and it was hard to watch, even as a child.

Pop-Pop and Mimi, late 90s. 

Pop-Pop and Mimi, 1987 Christmas Party

I am running the Chicago Marathon and fundraising in the hopes that treatment can be more successful and a cure can be found. I run so that people like my Pop-Pop do not have to suffer silently in research trial after research trial. I run because he could not. I run because I think he’d want me to. 

Please join me in my journey to fundraise for an organization that has and will continue to help so many

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