Abseil for MS charity
Following on from an adventure in 2019 that saw Cavan Town woman, Patricia Scanlon, drop almost 150ft (44 metres) from the roof of Croke Park to the pitch, the plucky fundraiser is at it again.
On June 17 Patricia will again make the steep ascent to the highest point of the headquarters of the GAA before dropping back down to earth in her Croke Park Charity Abseil for Multiple Sclerosis Ireland.
“This is an important event for me as I have MS,” Patricia told the Celt. Last time out her efforts saw the charity receive over €1,000.
Those funds go to accelerating Irish and global research into MS and the provision of services to over 9,000 people living with MS and their family members. Multiple Sclerosis Ireland give information, support and advocacy services to the MS community.
Although MS is a progressive neurological condition that can affect a person’s health, lifestyle and relationships, many people with it find ways to manage and cope with the difficulties.
For some MS is an invisible condition. Many of the debilitating symptoms are not apparent. Patricia says that this can be problematic: “People don’t see it. That can be a trial with MS, people don’t understand the impact it is having on someone.
“Some days you might need a walking stick, others days you don’t. You don’t rely on props unless you need them. You have to learn to adapt socially to it. There’s nothing in life that I don’t do. Myself and my two daughters do everything that a normal family do,” she says.
“MS Ireland is a non-profit organisation and helps people in Ireland, people like myself, to access information, services and support both at national and local level. These services are very necessary and important to all with MS,” Patricia tells.
She has set up a donations page through her Facebook account. She is also using more traditional methods: “I have a sponsor card in Jimmy’s (Scanlon’s jeweller), a sponsor card in Elegant Gems and one that is doing the rounds, and I have one myself that I bring around to give people the chance to support the very worthy cause.”
Patricia says that, although she found the previous challenge daunting, it was also exhilarating: “There were three staggered ladders, they were a real challenge. The initial step off is hard, but once you go down you feel fantastic,” the fundraiser said. “There is an unbelievable view of the city.”
The Cavan Town lady says the decision to undertake the abseil challenge again was a small gesture of support to those who have helped her in her MS fight: “I want to say a big thank you to Professor Hayes and all at the neurology team at St James, and Michelle Hall, the senior physio.”
If you want to donate you can drop in to her brother Jimmy Scanlon’s jewellers on Townhall Street or make an online donation through her Trisha Aiken-Scanlon Facebook page.