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Raising funds for wife’s MS treatments

Determination and love for his wife and children keep him walking
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Tim Michalchuk walked into Lac la Hache on April 10

Bella Coola Tim Michalchuk is walking a million steps to save his wife, Shannon Dickson.

He is trekking from the Prince George MS Clinic to the Vancouver MS Clinic to raise funds to pay for stem cell therapy for Shannon’s Multiple Sclerosis (MS) treatments.

In a statement Shannon made on her GoFundMe page, she says that when it was confirmed she had MS, she was in shock. “I couldn’t believe it”

Tim, made his way through Lac la Hache in the morning of April 10 on his way towards 100 Mile House for his next stop-over.

He made a brief stop at Lac la Hache Volunteer Fire Department's fire chief Terry Murphy’s home where he and his grandpa Allan Kaytor were treated to a hearty breakfast before heading back out on the road.

He spoke about what brought him to doing this journey for his wife.

Approximately six-and-a-half years ago Shannon began to have some mild MS symptoms, including cold wet feet, numbing and vertigo.

Four years ago, her doctors confirmed she had the onset of MS. She was still able to manage her symptoms and go about her day with relative normality.

Then Shannon was involved in a major motor vehicle incident in December 2015; she was the passenger in the vehicle driven by Tim.

Shannon had a major relapse, in less than a week following the accident. She went for being fully able to care for herself to being an invalid requiring someone to help her with even the simplest of tasks. Since Christmas, the disease has progressed rapidly. Shannon says she lost all feeling in the left side of her body and her right leg and she cannot walk without use of a cane or a person to help her.

She cannot get in or out of a bathtub on her own or into her own bed alone; she cannot even wash or brush her own hair.

Shannon has four adult children and two minor children, and a new grandchild.

Some of the symptoms may get a bit better, but the prognosis she has received is that it will be permanent damage.

Tim says he knew he had to do something.

“She has always been there for everyone else, seeing her go from taking care of everyone to needing to be cared for, was hard to see.

“I’ll walk, and make it happen [to raise the funds], one way or another.”

With his grandpa driving the pilot truck towing an older travel trailer, they set out from Prince George on April 2.

Tim will have a few additional drivers taking shifts, including his dad, Laurence Michalchuk, and his grandma, Joan Michalchuk, who will also take a driving shift.

After departing 100 Mile House, Tim’s route will continue on to Clinton, Cache Creek, Kamloops, then into the Okanagan through Falkland, Vernon, Kelowna and then taking the Connector to Merritt on the way to Hope and then Highway 7 Lougheed all the way to UBC.

Tim plans to arrive in Vancouver by the end of April.

You can follow his journey on Facebook at A Million Steps https://www.facebook.com/MillionStepsToSaveMyShannon/?fref=ts

and make donations at http://www.gofundme.com/kehkkd4k.

If you see him along the road, feel free to stop and encourage him on his journey.

Monika Paterson is the Lac la Hache correspondent.