After over 30 years, a Dorchester man will be reaching his lifetime fundraising goal of $1 million to help fight multiple sclerosis (MS) — a chronic disease that impacts Canadians in greater numbers than the rest of the world.
Barry Travnicek’s work began in 1991 after his sister, Lynne, was diagnosed with MS, an autoimmune condition that affects the central nervous system, after two carpal tunnel surgeries.
According to MS Canada, formerly the Multiple Sclerosis Society of Canada, MS is “unpredictable” and affects people differently. The disease attacks myelin – the protective covering around nerves — causing inflammation and often damaging the myelin.
As a result, the disease often impacts the brain, spinal cord and optic nerve, resulting in affected vision, memory, balance and mobility.
“It is considered an episodic disability meaning that the severity and duration of illness and disability can vary and are often followed by periods of wellness,” according to MS Canada. “It can also be progressive.”
The society also notes that Canada has one of the highest rates of MS in the world, with an estimated 90,000 Canadians living with the disease.
On average, 12 Canadians are diagnosed with MS every day, and most people are diagnosed with the disease between the ages of 20 and 49.
“It is incurable,” Travnicek said, sharing how it impacted his sister. “Within two years of diagnosis, she was in a wheelchair.”
He told Global News that his sister endured many hospital stays and lost her independence as her condition progressed. Eventually, it took her life.
“We saw the progression of what the disease did to her and, unfortunately, it did not end well,” Travnicek said, adding that Saturday will mark the fifth anniversary of his sister’s death.
“She was always my big sister and she took care of care was when we were young,” he recalled. “As the years went by, we started to hang out together even more and we became even closer than normal.”
After first learning of her diagnosis, Travnicek started raising money for research, which he continues to do today.
He has taken part in MS Canada’s summer fundraising event, the 150-kilometre Grand Bend to London MS Bike, for 33 years — as long as the event has run.
“When I started, I hadn’t been on a bike since I got my first car, so those first couple of years were painful at times, to say the least,” he said. “But at the end of the day, riding that far with on a bicycle, whether you’re used to it or not, is a lot easier than living with the disease that we’re trying to cure.”
Travnicek also raises funds by coaching a baseball league and he sends out mailers to approximately 500 businesses in London and the surrounding area.
He told Global News that over a decade ago, he responded to a local call for charity partners by George Karigan, the owner of East Side Bar & Grill at 750 Hamilton Rd.
“My contact at the MS Society at the time said that this bar in London is looking for somebody to run a 50/50 draw on Fridays. And, as an outside salesman, nobody wants to see me on Friday afternoons anyway, so we decided to give it a shot,” he said.
At the time, Karigan had just taken over the bar and wanted to keep the previous owner’s tradition of a weekly 50/50 draw going. Since then, and every Friday night for the past 16 years, the pair have run the draw at the east London bar, raising over $590,000.
“It was definitely the right decision,” Travnicek said. “It’s really a humbling thing, too, because very few of these patrons at East Side have any experience with MS… But at the end of every year, we sort of make a presentation to show how much we raised, and that place just goes wild.
“They applaud and pat each other on the back, and I think it’s because they’re all really invested in this now.”
According to Travnicek, this Friday’s draw will hopefully help them reach his $1 million fundraising goal for MS.
“By the time we get to the number of $831 for the winner, and $831 for the MS Society, that will be the $1 million mark, and that will happen tonight (Friday),” he said.
In reflecting on the fast-approaching milestone, Travnicek thought of his sister and pictured how she would react to the upcoming milestone moment.
“She’d be happy, there’s no question about that,” he said. “Even before or after every bike ride, I’d always call her and tell her how much money I raised that year. We always sort of said that ‘this is great,’ and ‘maybe this is the year,’ but now it’s all carryover from that.
“We’re still working and doing this together.”
He added, however, that “in her memory, and in the memory of over 90,000 Canadians who are living with MS right now, we’re not going to be stop here, that’s for sure.”
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