People living with Multiple Sclerosis do whatever they can to make themselves comfortable while living with the disease. Cheryl Smith is taking her treatment one step further. She’s traveling to Albany, New York for a relatively new surgery that has given hope to those living with the disease.

The treatment focuses on a condition called Chronic Cerebrospinal Venous Insufficiency or CCSVI, which is essentially clogged veins.

Smith will undergo a procedure that will hopefully unclog her veins in a process similar to angioplasty. If successful her blood should flow normally again and allow Smith some relief from her MS symptoms.

Smith estimates the trip and surgery may cost up to $20,000 depending whether she needs stents or not. Considering medication to help cope with MS can cost up to $2,000 per month, Smith sees this opportunity as practical as well as necessary for a chance to improve her quality of life.

Smith said she has nothing to lose. If the procedure is successful and she comes out of it with any type of relief or restoration, it will be worth it, she said.

One of the most wicked things about living with MS is one doesn’t know how he or she will wake up the next morning, said Smith.

“I used to love mowing the lawn, if it changed it so you could do something like that it’d just be incredible, but if it stops it so it doesn’t get worse that’s incredible too.”

Smith’s wishes of the outcome are quite simple: to be mobile and hold her husband’s hand.

“The two things that I dream about, that I’m too scared to hope about, is mowing the lawn… I dream about going for a walk, holding my husband’s hand… right now my arm is linked in his and I feel like a drunken sailor walking beside him,” she said holding back tears.

Smith has to pay out of her own pocket for the surgery, and, although she and her family were prepared to do that, her friends decided to come up with a way to reduce the financial burden.

It all began at a bible study group discussing helping others and making a practical difference in the community.

What transpired was a benefit concert for Smith to help with the costs of flights and medical bills.

It began as a simple idea for a small concert and turned into a bigger event than organizers Terry Coe and Ian Munro ever thought possible.

“The willingness of the people to just help is overwhelming,” said Coe, a close friend of Cheryl’s. “I cannot believe how everybody’s just said ‘yeah (we’ll help out).’”

Getting musicians on board proved to be an effortless feat for the duo.

With many contacts in the musical circle, Munro made a few phone calls and managed to book the concert in just one night.
“It’s just an incredible response by the musicians,” he said.

“When you put on a concert like this, you want probably the best of the area you can get.”

And he certainly attained that. Headliners at the benefit concert are all local bands and include, Heidi Raye, a local singer now out of Nashville; Unto Him, a local gospel group; Haven, who have opened for Collin James, Prism and Trooper; Jayme Knyx who has shared the stage with Sean Hogan and Duane Steele; local country band, Binder Twang and local singer Barb Munro.

Although Smith would rather be behind the scenes than in the midst of it, she’s grateful for the efforts of her friends and community.

“That our friends came together and did this blows me away,” she said. “It’s mind boggling to me how much they’ve done… and the community’s reaction to it… it’s awesome how they came together.”

Both Coe and Munro have noticed that MS has taken a toll on Smith recently, but neither of them have heard her complain.

“This lady, in the time that we’ve known her, I’ve never heard one complaint out of her,” Munro said. “Even in the amount of pain she’s been in, I’ve never heard her say one thing.”

Coe said Smith has even apologized for not joining her friends on outings.

Smith said staying positive is her way of coping with MS.

“If you laugh, you just get over it. If you cry, you feel like garbage for however long,”

Organizers of the event are of course hopeful that enough money will be raised to cover all of Smith’s costs, but Smith is hoping that she won’t have to use much of it. She would rather pay it forward to someone else who could use it.

You can’t tell me there’s no one in the MS world that couldn’t use it, she said.
Coe stated that if the event raised more than Smith needs, they will pass it on to either the MS Society or another individual who needs it.

Coe and Munro hope to put on a great show and have put a lot of thought into the event to make it more than just a group of people casually coming together.

“Our whole idea is to present it in a light manner… and a professional manner,” Munro said, mentioning not only professional singers, but also knowledgeable sound tech and lighting people, along with MC Shannon Anderson, from the band, Dark Horse, that are sure to put on a good show.

“It’s been a lot of work, but we’ve got good support from everybody,” said Munro, who is overwhelmed by the positive reception from the community. “I want to say thank you to all the musicians, sponsors and supporters who are giving up their time, talent and resources to help someone and make a difference in our community.”

The Cheryl Smith Benefit is slated for June 23 at Unchagah Hall. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. The concert starts at 7 p.m. Admission is by donation.

jwoodford@dcdn.ca