Kotewicz inspires family and community
- 5 days ago
- 2 min read
Chris Abbott
Editor
Mary Jane Kotewicz walked in her third Simcoe-Norfolk MS Walk on Saturday.
She wasn’t sure if she would be able to complete the 2-km route, but said she would try her best.
“I usually walk about a kilometre, then they push me the rest of the way.”
Kotewicz, raised in Simcoe and currently living in Scotland, has primary progressive multiple sclerosis. PPMS is distinct from relapsing MS because it involves a continuous progression of disability rather than relapses and remissions.
In simple terms, it’s not good.
“But I’m doing good,” Kotewicz smiled.
“I was diagnosed eight years ago, but I’ve probably had MS 15 years, that I’m aware of… it was a long time. The diagnosis was awful, lots of doctors.”
Wearing colourful tie-dye shirts, she was the inspiration for the Mary Jane Marchers team.
“It started out with just five of us, five cousins,” said Kotewicz, who will be 64 this year. “Now we have all our cousins, on the one side of my family.”
Kotewicz said one of the biggest benefits of the MS Walk, in addition to raising funds, is raising awareness.
“I think a lot of people don’t know what MS is. I get, ‘Oh, what’s wrong with your knee?’ They think you have knee surgery, they don’t understand that you have another disease. And I think a lot of people don’t understand MS. It’s invisible, it’s an awful disease. And I am very fortunate that I am still as good as I am. My mind is good, my eyes are good, a lot of people don’t have that.
“That’s why I walk for this.”
As far as Kotewicz knows, she is the first in her family to have multiple sclerosis. She does know Canada has one of the highest rates of MS.
“And they can’t figure out why. Where (my MS) came from, I have no idea. I have always been very active in the community, as a hockey mom, figure skating board, but now I put my energy here.”
Mary Jane Marchers, as a team, raised more than $7,000 and they were the Top Fundraising Team at this year’s Simcoe-Norfolk MS Walk.
“Every year we’ve gone up a thousand dollars, so we’re pretty happy. We’ve had some good sponsors. And everybody works so hard.”
As their aunts and uncles have passed, and there are only a few left, Kotewicz said her cousins have become even closer.
“It’s very nice that we’re still all together.”
Kotewicz, who stopped working about six weeks ago, tries to be an inspiration in her family as she battles MS.
“They (her cousins) see the struggle, they know the struggle, and I keep fighting. They can tell when I’m tired. I try not to say no to anything. I will attempt it.
“I am hoping to keep doing the MS Walk until I can’t anymore. I’m not giving up, because if you give up, you’re done.”
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