Endurance Horse Rider with Multiple Sclerosis Set to Compete in Fair Hill 100-Mile Ride
Alexandra North seeks sponsorships to raise money for the Multiple Sclerosis Quality of Life Project
CARMEL, CA (PRWEB) October 6, 2004 -- The Multiple Sclerosis Quality of Life
Project (MSQLP), a 501 (c) (3) Not-for-Profit Corporation that serves multiple
sclerosis patients in California’s Central Coast region, today announced that
local endurance horse rider, multiple sclerosis patient and MSQLP spokeswoman,
Alexandra North, will compete in the Fair Hill 100-mile ride in Elkton, Maryland
on October 16, 2004. Usually, North competes on her own horse, Butter Bea;
however, this time she will be riding a borrowed horse named Benediqtine, owned
by Lana Wright, of Maryland. The Fair Hill course is the site for the 2005 North
American Endurance Championship that North hopes to attend with Butter Bea next
year.
By competing in the Fair Hill 100, North seeks to raise money for
MSQLP and invites the public to sponsor her. Currently, MSQLP is raising $35,000
in funding from corporate, community and individual philanthropists. The funding
will allow MSQLP’s part-time medical social worker, who helps patients cope with
day-to-day, energy-draining health and housekeeping problems as well as mediate
amongst individual medical and alternative providers, to become a full-time
employee and assist more patients in need. To sponsor North in the Fair Hill
100, send a tax-deductible contribution to: MSQLP, P.O. Box 223537, Carmel, CA
93922.
“Riding this years’ Fair Hill 100 gives me the opportunity to get
an advance look for next years’ North American Championship course, while also
raising much-needed funding for MSQLP,” says North.
“Monterey, San Benito
and Santa Cruz Counties are home to 800-1,200 people suffering from multiple
sclerosis,” says Dr. Lotte Marcus, Carmel psychologist and President and
Chairman of MSQLP. “When we polled a representative sampling of this community
two years ago - 80 multiple sclerosis patients and 25 fulltime caregivers – we
tapped into a despairing level of resignation. Nine out of ten patients
questioned put the amount of derangement the illness was causing in their
everyday lives at 90 percent. Amidst privatization, wholesale clinic and
hospital closings, declining numbers of adequately insured citizens and brutally
mushrooming medical costs, MSQLP’s modest efforts seem to be taking on an
increasingly urgent survivalist role with each passing day.”
Endurance
ride horses receive the very best of care, with regular breaks for food, water,
rest and veterinary checks. Rides are governed by the AERC, which has developed
rules and strict controls to ensure the health and welfare of the horses
competing in endurance rides. The AERC sanctions more than 700 rides each year.
For more information about the AERC or to access North’s ride history, visit the
AERC at www.aerc.org.
For more information about the Fair Hill 100 ride, visit http://www.fairhillinternational.com.
About Alexandra
North
An avid horsewoman since the age of eight, North started endurance
riding in 1995, a few months before she was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis.
In spite of unpredictable and sporadic symptoms, North continues to pursue her
passion for riding because of the healing effects it provides. She also hopes to
one day compete on the U.S. National Endurance Team. After learning about the
Multiple Sclerosis Quality of Life Project, North chose to help support the
organization through donors sponsoring her riding efforts. In 2002, North and
her horse, Butter Bea, ranked fourth in the nation for miles raced, won the
American Endurance Ride Conference’s (AERC) coveted War Mare award, the Pioneer
Award for the middleweight division, took first place in the West region
Middleweight Division and the West Region overall. In 2003, North and Butter Bea
competed at the Pan American Endurance Championship in Trout Lake, Washington,
and qualified for the reserve list for the U.S. National Team. Formerly with
Dunlap, Slade, Lubow in Carmel, North launched her own CPA practice in 1999 so
she would have more flexibility to participate in endurance rides. Prior to
Dunlap, Slade, Lubow, North was with Maryanov Madsen Gordon & Campbell in
Palm Springs. North holds a BA in Journalism from Humboldt State University,
Arcata, California, and received her certificate in Financial Accounting from
National University in San Diego.
About Dr. Lotte Marcus
Dr. Lotte
Marcus, President and Chairman of the Multiple Sclerosis Quality of Life
Project, is a clinical psychologist in private practice in Carmel, California,
and was a lecturer in the Department of Community Medicine at the University of
California, San Francisco. Dr. Marcus has treated many clients with multiple
sclerosis. She has also worked with multiple sclerosis clients at the
rehabilitation facility, Transitions, in Gilroy, California. Dr. Marcus, with
her husband Alan, is the author of “Reflections on the Culture, Politics and
Psychology of Multiple Sclerosis,” as well as numerous publications on illness
counseling. Under the auspices of the Silicon Valley Chapter of the National
Multiple Sclerosis Society and Multiple Sclerosis Community Services of Salinas,
Dr. Marcus has made many presentations on multiple sclerosis to patients and
caregivers. She has also addressed physicians at the Community Hospital of the
Monterey Peninsula, the University of California, San Francisco, and Sutter
Medical Center in Santa Rosa (formerly Santa Rosa Community Hospital). On June
12, 2003, Dr. Marcus received The Spirit Award, presented by the Freedom To Live
Foundation in Los Angeles, in recognition of her services.
About the
Multiple Sclerosis Quality of Life Project
The Multiple Sclerosis Quality of
Life Project (MSQLP) is a 501 (c) (3) Non-Profit Corporation dedicated to
improving the quality of life for people with multiple sclerosis and their
families in Monterey, San Benito and Santa Cruz Counties. Based on the results
of a Needs Assessment undertaken and released in 2002 in cooperation with the
Silicon Valley Chapter of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, there
appeared to be a need for integrated, client-centered, care management plans to
ensure that multiple sclerosis patients aren’t slipping through the cracks of
the health care system. In August 2004, MSQLP succeeded in hiring a part-time
medical social worker who will serve 24-36 ambulatory and homebound multiple
sclerosis patients in the Tri-County area, with the goal of improving the
quality of life by integrating medical and psychosocial treatment plans. For
more information about MSQLP or to volunteer your time and talent, call: (831)
624-7381 or fax: (831) 624-5932. Tax-deductible contributions can be mailed to:
MSQLP, P.O. Box 223537, Carmel, CA 93922.
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Source : http://www.prweb.com/releases/2004/10/prweb164560.htm