By YASEMIN TALAT
IT won’t be all green and gold this Australia Day, as the MS Colour Dash takes over the Docklands in a sea of colour and excitement for the inaugural 5km fun run.
The Ms Colour Dash is part of the official program of events for Australia Day in Victoria, and is a non-profit event organised to raise much-needed funds for the 23,000 Australians living with multiple sclerosis.
Williamstown resident Roula Kfoury, who was diagnosed with MS in 2008 when she was just 24, will take part in the event joined by a team of her family and friends.
“The good thing about these events is that they give a little profile on what MS is and it helps makes people aware of the illness,” Ms Kfoury said.
Ms Kfoury is no stranger to the MS events, she has taken part in the MS walk and fun run for the last seven years and last year received an award recognising her for her generous donations.
“I definitely think it’s a very high priority and I always try and donate as much as I can,” she said.
“Raising money for something like this actually works in our favour and we are getting better and better medication as a result.”
Ms Kfoury has suffered the effects of MS having experienced five episodes over the last six years, three of which were in the first year of her diagnosis.
The episodes included loss of vision in her left eye and loss of feeling in her arms or legs which meant she could not walk.
And after each episode Ms Kfoury would be back in hospital, sometimes taking her up to a month to recover.
She also had no choice but to quit her job and take time out to adjust to life with MS.
“I didn’t realise that MS would affect me so much,” she said.
“I had to stop working to get my body working.”
Learning to have a positive outlook, eating right, exercise and yoga and not being in a stressful job have all helped Ms Kfoury turn her life around for the better.
“I learnt so much more about it and I changed my lifestyle, and I feel so amazing now and nothing’s going to get me down.”
Ms Kfoury now hopes to become a yoga or Pilates instructor.
To register and for more information go to: www.mscolourdash.org.au.
