I and the rest of Team Tazza, all the other riders and volunteers at this years MS bike tour could not have asked for better weather! It was another successful Rona MS Bike Tour put on by the MS Society. It is such a positive event and everyone is in high spirits and have a great time riding, eating, dancing, eating some more then riding some more :) I would love to continue organizing a team to participate in this annual event, BUT there's a BUT...
I can not help but feel the tension and feel torn between three society's that supposedly have the same goal; Curing MS! First there is the MS Society who puts on great fundraisers across the country and really helps to bring together all people affected by this disease. They also fund many studies on many different potential MS therapies, however, I do not feel that they are respecting the urgency that MS patients feel to receive the Liberation treatment IN CANADA. On the other hand, there are two society's who's primary goal is to implement the Liberation Treatment in Canada; CCSVI Calgary and Direct-MS, but do not provide any sort of community for MS patients to collaborate. The opposing views of these societies results in a lot of negative tension that has created an extra barrier they need to overcome in order to continue progressing forward in hopes of finding a cure as well as forced MS patients to make an unfair choice on where their support lies.
So while I have gained so much from all of these societies I am left feeling frustrated that I have to pick between them. After all, me and my MS Bike Tour team have raised just over a quarter million dollars for the MS Society but I still have to raise extra money on top of that to fly to India to receive treatment. All because the MS Society isn't supporting the Liberation Treatment. With CCSVI or Direct-MS they would have used that money to get me to India but they also wouldn't have had organized a bike tour to allow me to raise that money to begin with.
If these groups could just find a way to collaborate and unite their strengths then loyalties wouldn't be split and patients would benefit. If the MS Society's powerful support system and the emphasis CCSVI Calgary/Direct MS place on the Liberation Treatment could be combined then a middle ground could be established. If they could just come together...right now.