Momentum

The importance of connecting Relationships hold us up

Sometimes we forget how powerful it can be to connect with others. Nearly 25 years ago, when I was volunteering at the National MS Society in Pittsburgh, the Society’s support groups were beginning to blossom; people with MS were buoyed by the idea of finding each other, sharing their experiences and problem-solving together. It was in one of those groups that I got to know a woman named Debbie Petrina, who had been recently diagnosed with MS. She had been dealt a tough hand— she was a younger mother with a significant disability—but she didn’t see it that way. Instead, she was incredibly vibrant, and lived so robustly. She was one of the people who taught me, early on, that each and every one of us can help make the world a better place.

In 1991, I moved to
Connecticut, and Debbie and
I lost our connection. Or so I
thought. Last November, Debbie
mailed me a copy of her new
book, Managing MS: Straight
Talk from a Thirty-One Year
Survivor. On the cover page, she
wrote me a quick note:
When they discovered their
mutual interests and talents, they
started Makeover Your MS, a
nonprofit that empowers women
to feel great about themselves,
while facing the challenges of
living with MS.

MARK KIRYLUK

Dear Cyndi,
You were such an inspiration to
me when we met in Pittsburgh
at the Society back in the ’80s.
You helped me ‘survive’ my MS,
and I will be forever grateful.
Fondly, Debbie

A couple months later, I
received a card from another
woman, Kathy Yancic,
congratulating me on my
appointment as CEO of the
Society. “Dear Cyndi, I don’t
know if you’ll remember me …”
it began. I remembered her in
an instant because she had made
such an impression on me—also
in Pittsburgh—as someone who
took charge and made the best
of her circumstances. In her
note, she told me, “I thank you
for your help and suggestions.
Feeling encouraged and
empowered in handling my own
personal challenges, I continued
working as a registered nurse
until 2006.”
I was so moved to learn
that these women felt I made
a difference in their lives, after
interacting with them for such
a brief time. They were my
inspiration! But that’s what we
do when we make connections:
We hold each other up.

Take Verena Frydberg and Lisa Cohen. These friends—and now business partners—met at Walk MS in New York three years ago. Verena is a former makeup artist for celebrities and top-shelf cosmetics brands, and Lisa is a photographer, graphic designer and artist promoter.