On Sunday, April 6th, 8:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. at the Illini quad, student nurses at the University of Illinois are reclaiming hope, one mile at a time with the Make a Muscle 5K Run/Walk.
When Lynne Stonebock, a senior nursing student at the University of Illinois, learned her dad was diagnosed with ALS (Lou Gehrig’s Disease), which is 100% fatal with no treatment options, she had no idea that the support for her family would rely on would come from an organization just streets away from her college campus.
“You know your world is going to be forever changed by this disease, but you don’t know the next steps to take,” said Stonebock. “After we reached out to the Champaign MDA, they came to our house in Peoria with information to help us learn about our new life.”
The Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA) is the world’s leading nonprofit health agency dedicated to finding treatments and cures for muscular dystrophy, ALS and other neuromuscular diseases. The MDA office located in Champaign on Neil Street serves all of Central Illinois, connecting patients and loved ones to much-needed supplies, encouragement and resources.
Another Illinois student, freshman Abby Svoboda, also knows the help and hope offered by the MDA.
When Svoboda was just 16, she was diagnosed with FSHD, a form of muscular dystrophy that impairs upper body strength and weakens the lower body. The MDA came to her rescue by providing support and resources for her and her family as she geared up to face this lifelong disease.
Together, Svoboda and Stonebock, along with the Illini Student Nurses’ Association, are teaming up to help this local organization. The first annual Make A Muscle 5K Run/Walk will be hosted on April 6th, starting with registration at 8:30 a.m. on the University of Illinois quad.
“With muscle diseases like ALS, everything is just taken away — a person’s coordination, speech, even time,” said Stonebock. “This is an event about giving back. It’s about giving back hope, optimism and support to a nonprofit that has done so much, and to families facing these tough situations.”
To register for the event, please visit www.mdaevent.org/makeamuscle5k.