Woman swims to raise fund for MS research

Canadian Taryn Lencoe, 28, swam for 12 hours in the sea on Saturday to raise fund for the fight against the debilitating disease of multiple sclerosis.

On Saturday morning in Vancouver, Lencoe dived into the cold seawater to swim from 7 am to 7 pm to raise money to combat MS, which affects 100,000 Canadians and about 2.5 million people worldwide.

MS is an unpredictable, often disabling disease of the central nervous system. It can affect vision, hearing, memory, balance and mobility, and there is no cure. Each day, three more Canadians are diagnosed with the disease. In fact, Canada has the world's highest rate of MS, and experts are at a loss to explain why.

Lencoe said she was inspired to take the 12-hour plunge by her cousin, who was diagnosed with MS about 10 years ago.

"The 12 hours really symbolizes the busy moments of your day. You're up, let's say, at 7 am, and you maybe don't come home and finish making dinner until 7 pm. And you've got work and your kids and your life happening. Well imagine on top of that you also have a loss of sensation in your fingers or you have extreme fatigue. So I'm challenging myself beyond what most people would challenge themselves doing in a day," she told Xinhua in an interview before plunging into the water.

Lencoe used to compete for her university swim team and was also a member of Canada's national swim team. She prepared for the marathon swim by training for 15 months, but she said she had never swum continuously for more than six hours.

Lencoe took a 10-minute break every three hours and was escorted by two kayakers who provided her with fluids and snacks such as granola bars and bananas.

She learned Friday night that she had already surpassed her goal of raising C $10,000 ($9,200) for MS research.

Taryn's father, Mike Lencoe, said before the swim: "It's fantastic. It started a bit slow at the beginning, and then even just a couple of months ago it was in the $3,000 range and you're thinking the event is not too far away, but it's come on extremely strong in the last while and she's done a lot of training, a lot of hard work so it's great. The family and friends are proud of her and it will be good to see her at 7 o'clock tonight."

Stephanie Mosher from the MS Society of Canada said every dollar raised will go to fund MS research as well as provide advocacy for those with the disease, and help to provide equipment such as wheelchairs and stair lifts.

A friend of Lencoe's, Barbara Johns, watched the swim from shore. Johns was diagnosed in 2005 with primary progressive MS. She said she could not be more proud of Taryn.

"It is absolutely incredible. I can hardly talk about it without wanting to cry. She is just so, such a generous spirit," Johns said.

Lencoe said she shared some happy tears with her family when she heard the news that more than C $11,000 has been raised. Now she is hoping to raise even more to help with the battle against MS.

(China Daily 08/18/2014 page10)