By JORDAN GREEN, Editor-in-Chief
As Northwestern students and others walked on blacktop roads toward Share Medical Center on Saturday morning, rays of sunshine pierced through dark gray clouds.
Rain had fallen on Alva earlier that morning, threatening some outdoor events and slickening city streets.
But wet weather wouldn’t keep Northwestern students, staff and alumni from completing their mission: to walk more than a mile to and from the university to raise awareness for multiple sclerosis.
Former Northwestern physical educator Elda Jones helped coordinate Northwestern’s first Walk MS: Your Way event, which aims to support medical research for the debilitating disease and raise awareness surrounding it.
About 100 people – including the Northwestern football team and some of Jones’ family members – trekked from the J.R. Holder Wellness Center to the local hospital, a distance of several blocks, and back.
“I thought it was great,” Jones said. “I was pleased.”
Jones, who has multiple sclerosis, organized the walk with the help of Wellness Center Director Olivia Yandel.
Participants left the Wellness Center around 8 a.m. Wellness Center workers held signs to guide walkers along the route, and they gave participants refreshments once they reached the hospital. From there, participants walked back to campus.
STUDENT HELPS TEACHER
Jones, a former assistant professor of health and physical education, was diagnosed with MS in 1993. She obtained both her bachelor’s and master’s degrees at Northwestern, and she became the first female physical educator at Laverne Public Schools.
She retired from Northwestern in 1999 because of the disease, but her impact on students outlasted her career.
Among the walk’s participants was Northwestern football coach Matt Walter, one of Jones’ former students, who described her as a caring, passionate educator.
“She was a great teacher,” Walter said. “Very knowledgeable, very patient with a lot of us. Just a lot of respect for her and what she’s done for education. Can’t speak highly enough of her.”
Walter has followed Jones’ journey with the disease for years.
“Kind of when she was first diagnosed with it is when I had her, so I kind of got to see how that affected her,” Walter said.
“Raising some awareness and being able to bring out an entire football team to show support for that was important to me.”
ABOUT MS
Multiple sclerosis, a disease of the central nervous system, destroys myelin, a substance that protects nerve fibers. Symptoms can vary from person to person.
More than 2 million people around the world have MS, which often causes vision problems, paralysis and other health issues, according to the National Multiple Sclerosis Society.
More than 350 projects to find a cure for the disease and help alleviate patients’ symptoms are ongoing worldwide.
Supporting that research is the top priority for walking events, which collect donations from participants and encourage others to donate as well.
Jones’ life and work send a message of strength and determination to people who deal with any kind of challenge, whether health-related or not, Walter said.
“Take football for example,” Walter said. “You’ve got to be resilient in games and through injury. Injury is a big one. … These guys being able to see her and how she’s done with something so physically affecting, hopefully that’ll motivate them to say, ‘Hey, she’s an inspiration to me.’”
MOVING FORWARD
Though Jones had to retire from teaching full-time, she didn’t let MS keep her from living life her way.
After retiring from Northwestern, she served as the coordinator of a recreational program for elementary school students at Christian Church of the Covenant in Enid. Using verbal instructions and her arms, she taught students how to dance, even though she remained in a wheelchair.
She’s also served as a coordinator with numerous fundraising events across Oklahoma and raised more than $50,000 for MS research through walks and bike rides in Enid, Norman and other cities.
‘HAPPY TEARS’
Joining in the walk Saturday was one of Jones’ caregivers at The Homestead, a local assisted living center.
Allison Huffmaster, a Northwestern nursing major, brought her dog Willow, a border collie, to join in.
Jones was thrilled by all the participants, whether human or canine.
“I’m just glad that my family’s here, my caregivers are here and the dogs are here,” she said. “I was very excited to have the football team here. Like Matt said, I had him in class, and he spoke to the team and told them about me. I was very pleased that they came to the walk.”
After the walk was done, Jones was joined by her family and friends for a group photo. All wore T-shirts with her name blazoned across them.
With tears in her eyes, Jones said she was overjoyed by the turnout.
“I just hope there’s awareness,” Jones said. “These are happy tears.”
