MS can't keep Conant student from full school, sports schedule
As a three-sport student athlete at Conant High School in Hoffman Estates, senior Meghan Melone carries a full load.
Last week, she went right from classes to soccer practice after school while managing to find time for meetings with peer mediation, Dollars for Darfur and Booking with Cougars, a new school program she helped start.
All this and another demanding issue: multiple sclerosis.
Although rare that someone so young should have the disease -- most people are diagnosed between the ages of 20 and 50. Melone was diagnosed at 14, right after she made the varsity basketball team as a freshman.
"Both my legs went numb, up to my hips," she says. "After they took a spinal tap, they knew."
In eighth grade, she had another common symptom, not recognized at the time, being a first sign. She developed optic neuritis, which is an inflammation of the optic nerve and caused partial vision loss.
The good news: the disease rarely slows Melone down and her symptoms are minor, she says.
"I haven't really had any symptoms recently, which is good, but when I do it's mostly a tingly sensation in my legs," Melone says.
On her soccer team alone, she moves from forward to sweeper, and scores on a lot of free kicks, says her coach, Jason Franco.
"She's been playing a lot of minutes for us," Franco says, "and already has scored six goals."
Multiple sclerosis is a disease of the central nervous system, which interrupts the flow of information from the brain to the body. Its symptoms can range from numbness and tingling, to blindness and paralysis, however its severity varies widely in patients.
According to the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, the disease affects more than 400,000 people in this country, including 20,000 in Illinois.
On Sunday, Melone will gather with nearly 150 classmates, friends and family at Harper College for the Northwest suburban MS Walk.
"It's the one day of the year that I always look forward to," Melone says. "It'll be my fourth year doing it, and I think this will be the most people that I've had walk with me."
The walk kicks off at 9 a.m. when organizers with the National Multiple Sclerosis Society Greater Chicago Chapter expect more than 1,200 people to step off. The Northwest suburban walk is one of 12 slated for Sunday, going on around the state.
The combined events are expected to raise $3.35 million to support programs and services for people living with MS, as well as research into causes and potential cures.
Melone's team is called "Ohana," which is Hawaiian for "family," made popular in 2002 movie, "Lilo and Stitch." Her freshman year classmates helped come up with name and create the team's bright orange shirts.
This year's group includes her teammates on volleyball, basketball and soccer, as well as her fellow members of the National Honor Society. Her basketball teammates held a "red out" at one of their games this season, when they played rival Schaumburg High School, that raised money -- and awareness.
"So many people were coming up to me and thanking me, people that I had never even met before," Melone says. "It made me feel like I had been their voice."
Judy Finnell of Palatine has helped organize the Northwest suburban walk for years, and she always marvels at the high school students who participate. But rarely has she seen a teen so actively involved who is a patient.
"She is an amazing young woman," Finnell says simply.
If you go
What: Northwest Suburban MS Walk
When: Register at 7:30 a.m.; walk at 9 a.m. Sunday
Where: Harper College, 1200 W. Algonquin Road, Palatine
Cost: Free; register to submit pledged donations
Call: (888) 343-1179 or visit msillinois.org