Nanaimo is one of 31 communities participating in the Multiple Myeloma March.
On Monday, September 6th, Myeloma Canada’s ‘most important fundraising event’ will be held in the city, starting registration at 9am in Maffeo Sutton Park at Lions Pavilion. The 5km walk is said to ‘raise funds for research and access to innovative medications that will increase life expectancy, and move the needle toward a cure for patients impacted by myeloma.’
Debbie Graves, a resident of Nanaimo, said that her experience with Myeloma started when she fell back on a boat, and after that, fractured her back while dumping a wheelbarrow full of leaves.
“Just by dumping the wheelbarrow, right, I fractured two vertebrae in my back and it was weird because I went to physio and different things and everybody was kind of treating me like I was crazy— like it was all in my head— and I was in such pain,” said Graves. “I couldn’t roll out of bed or do anything, my husband had to help me, it was like ‘what is wrong?’ That’s when I got the x-rays and found out the lesions on my bones and went looking for a diagnosis for what was wrong.”
Prior to her diagnosis, Graves hadn’t heard of multiple myeloma, a type of blood cancer that can weaken your bones, causing lesions. However, now, she plans to be part of the Multiple Myeloma March in September.
More information on the Nanaimo march, and how to donate or register for it, is available here.
The full interview with Debbie Graves is available below.
