On June 27, 1991, North Shore resident Derek Lunden was told that by his doctor. Within six months he had bought his first wheelchair. What the doctor didn't tell Lunden was how much he would be able to accomplish on his own.
"I wish he would have said 'there is so much more you can do for yourself,' because that is what I learned," said Lunden. "Forcing me to realize that was a gift."
On Aug. 18, 2011, a result of that gift manifested on Lunden's computer screen. He woke up that morning, checked his computer, and saw that someone had made him a $30 donation the previous night.
That brought the total amount of his collected donations to exactly $20,000. In just over a month he had succeeded in reaching his goal of fundraising "$20,000 for 20 years of living well with MS," for the annual 100 Hole MS Golf Challenge.
"I was overwhelmed and humbled by the responses from people," Lunden said.
The 100 Hole MS Golf Challenge is a fundraising event for the MS Society of Canada. Lunden helped develop the event 15 years ago and has been involved with it ever since. This year he will be the MC.
The event takes place at the 72-par Canal Golf Course at the Northview Golf & Country Club on Sept. 13. That day 36 golfers will break into pairs and play 100 holes of golf from dawn to dusk.
Though playing 100 holes of golf in one day sounds intimidating, Lunden said that it is less about completing a testosterone fuelled challenge and more about spending an amazing day raising money for MS.
"You are on the course with a friend, you have nobody pushing you from behind, nobody in front of you and you basically have the whole course to yourself for the day," he said. "It is what I call the ultimate golf experience."
Due to the severity of his MS Lunden will be unable to golf.
"One of the most
challenging things with this disease is that it's a progressive disease," he said. "I lose a little every day."
Only about 10 to 15 per cent of people diagnosed with MS are categorized as primary progressive. Individuals with primary progressive MS experience a slow accumulation of disability without any relapses. There is no cure for MS.
Accepting that there is no cure for MS was a substantial motive behind Lunden's fundraising campaign.
"When you are diagnosed with MS you have to go through different stages - anger, denial depression. The last is always acceptance," he said. "Eventually I felt that I needed to continue on and figure out a way to make the best of my life."
Lunden began a journey of self-discovery - a pathway to learning about what he could do for himself - soon after he accepted his reality.
He decided that he would continue to do everything he had done prior to being diagnosed, but just differently.
He married his fiancé and they had a child.
He continued to work for 10 years for a company he helped start, coached his two children in sports and lived his life as normally as possible.
Eventually the day-to-day physical toll of work became too draining and Lunden decided to retire.
"There was a period of loss afterwards because we are so connected to what we do," he said. "So when that is taken away you ask yourself: Who am I?"
Once again Lunden was forced to overcome the obstacles imposed by MS.
"I realized that if I was going to stay at home I would try to be the best stay-at-home dad I could be."
He is now the proud father of an Olympian. His son Robbie became a member of the Canadian national ski team and represented Canada at the 2010 Winter Olympics.
Throughout the course of his 20 years with MS Lunden said he has been blessed and fortunate to have his wife by his side.
"My wife, who was my fiancé when I was diagnosed, had a girlfriend ask her, 'what are you going to do? You're not going to get married are you?'
"She was just horrified and she said, 'of course I am going to marry him. He is my love."
Lunden admits that he wishes he didn't have MS, but he said that he doesn't want MS to strip away the aspects of his life that he can control.
He believes in living to the best of his capabilities, and accordingly, his fundraising effort for the 100 Hole MS Challenge is just as much about raising money for the MS Society as it is a statement that if MS cannot yet be beaten physically, it can be overcome mentally.
"I have found ways to overcome my disability and I have had a wonderfully rich life as a result," he said.
Lunden plans to continue fundraising until the commencement of the 100 Hole MS Challenge. To make a donation visit http: // mssociety.ca/bc/golf_main. htm.
