When Duane Shelinbarger, Jr., was diagnosed with secondary progressive MS in 2001, his family began participating in Walk MS Pueblo within the first year of his diagnosis. He was walking with a cane at the time and wasn’t able to make it the entire way.

Some volunteers saw Duane struggling and met the family with their participation ribbons a few hundred feet from the finish line. The volunteers and other participants were very friendly and made sure the family and Duane knew he isn’t in this alone.

The Shelinbargers had never heard of MS until Duane was diagnosed, so hearing others’ stories at Walk MS was a huge relief. That was the only year Duane was able to participate in the walk. By 2004, he was using a wheelchair and began slowly losing the ability to use his left arm/hand.

Duane’s daughter, Heather, was his primary caregiver throughout her high school years. She put him to bed every evening and was up by 6 a.m. to get him out. Now a junior at Colorado State University – Pueblo working towards a degree in business management with a minor in economics, Heather still provides for her father, whose health situation has worsened since 2010.

Last year, he was diagnosed with PML and we recently found out he also has Crohn’s Disease. He remains in bed for all but a few hours each day, but still has an amazing personality and is always making people smile and laugh. Heather has continued to participate in Walk MS every year because there are thousands of people throughout the state who would do anything to be able to cross that finish line. She walks to support and represent those in Colorado who can no longer do so because of this disease.