UNITED KINGDOM. Berkhamsted. Patrick Burke is looking for a resident corporation to provide a suitable venue for his challenging sponsored walk this September, perhaps through a car park or other hard standing area, to support his fundraising efforts in raising £10,000 for the local Chilterns MS Centre based in Wendover in England.
Burke was diagnosed with Relapsing-remitting Multiple Sclerosis in 1995, though his symptoms started in 1972. In 2000, the inflammation morphed into Secondary Progressive MS and he drew medical retirement in 2012. He is a regular visitor to the Chilterns MS Centre for physiotherapy, group exercise and one-to-one help to manage the disease.
In fact, Patrick’s ability to do something as simple as walk is severely impeded by Multiple Sclerosis (MS). He must focus the whole of his attention on just lifting up one leg and putting it in front of the other whenever he wants to walk.
“The contest will be an enormous challenge for me in so many ways. My limit at present is 45 minutes. The length of time that I can walk is restricted by muscular fatigue and poor balance. Walking for an hour will knock me out substantially for a couple of days,” says Burke.
Multiple Sclerosis is a disease that affects the nerves in the brain and spinal cord and is different for everyone. In Mr Burke’s case one of the effects of the disease is the transmission of messages from the brain to the left leg and foot muscles.
Patrick Burke looking forward to take the challenge. Burke cannot walk unaided. He uses a clever electrical device to stimulate muscles so he can lift his leg off the ground and take slight steps. The location for the walk should be a flat tarmac surface. Walking up and down or across a slope is very difficult and walking in a tight circle challenges Mr Burke’s balance. Ideally, he would like to walk approximately 50m in a straight line, turn around and walk back, as often as he can in the space of an hour.
“For me It feels like I’m walking in water,” says Burke. “It is terribly overwork, and my walking is disturbingly slow. If I tried walking with walking sticks or crutches, I would fall over.”
“There are many factors motivating me to do this,” said Mr Burke, “I want to prove to myself that I can walk for an hour. And another big motivation is seeing how much money I can raise for the charity, which is an oasis for people with MS in this area and the support they provide is outstanding.”
