02/13/2012 0 Comments Contact Our News Editors

With the help of her walker, Marise Rinkel is raising awareness of multiple sclerosis and Parkinson's disease one step at a time.

Rinkel, the local woman who walked from Woodland to San Diego last year as a fundraiser, has a new campaign lined up to continue promoting awareness and raising funds for research in hopes of finding cures.

Rinkel, who was born in the Netherlands and diagnosed with MS in 1988, started a new fundraiser on Jan. 1 called the Twenty-Twenty Walk. The plan is for her to walk 20 miles a week for 20 weeks while seeking 20 sponsors each week to donate 20 dollars directly to the American Academy of Neurology Foundation. The foundation is an international professional association of 22,500 neurologists and neuroscience professionals dedicated to promoting patient-centered neurologic care.

She's walking about three miles a day. She said she can walk up to three miles in one hour.

Thus far, Rinkel, 66, is living up to her end of the deal - but she's struggling to get 20 sponsors each week.

Rinkel won't say how many sponsors she has.

"Less than 20 (a week)," she allowed.

It's not always easy for Rinkel to get around. She has numerous

symptoms she has to overcome, including fatigue, in her battle against relapsing-remitting MS. At times, she also feels weakness on one side of her body, is affected by heat and deals with vision problems.
It's because of MS that she needs the assistance of a walker - falling is another common symptom.

Rinkel first started using a walker after falling in Wales while crossing a street about six years ago. She was using a cane at the time, and when it appeared as if a car was going to hit her she tried to run.

"My mind said run, but my feet didn't run," she said. "I went crashing down and hit my head pretty hard."

Shortly after, an unknown woman gave her a walker and she's been using one ever since.

With the walker, she's able to walk alone around the city and wander about in the country.

"God gave me a walker so I could walk," she said.

'Love to Cure'

On Friday, Feb. 24 at 6 p.m., Rinkel is organizing a "Love to Cure MS and Parkinson's" lasagna dinner at Calvary Baptist Church, 506 Cottonwood St.

The church, which Rinkel belongs to, is sponsoring the dinner.

Rinkel's goal is to have 120 attendees.

The event is being put on by "Walk One Step at a Time," a volunteer group Rinkel heads, along with several other friends, including Ankie Nielsen of Colorado Springs, Colo., who has Parkinson's disease.

Nielsen, who is also from the Netherlands and walked to San Diego with Rinkel last year, will be flying to Northern California for the occasion. A Woodland Parkinson's support group will also be attending.

The meal costs $10 if you pre-register, or $12 at the door. MS and Parkinson's patients who bring at least one pre-registered guest will receive a free meal. Those interested in registering can call Rinkel at 908-8398 or visit walkonestepatatime.com

The fundraiser will feature two guest speakers, Dr. Richard Beyer of Woodland, who will speak about Parkinson's, and Dr. John Schafer of Sacramento, who will address MS. Attendees are encouraged to ask the doctors questions so they can be become more informed.

A n' J and the Belles, a five-piece band out of Woodland, will perform live music throughout the evening.

There will also be raffles and a silent auction, with the top prize being a day out on the San Francisco Bay in Rinkel's son's boat.

Rinkel's family and friends are also part of the "Walk One Step at a Time" team. Her husband, Bert, is partaking in the Twenty-Twenty Bike Ride, where members of the Woodland Foy's Bike Club are riding 20 miles each a week and seeking sponsors. The format is similar to the Twenty-Twenty Walk.

Rinkel's son, Mark, created and maintains the group's website. Others who contribute include Nadine DeSmet, Larry and Patsy Dobbins, and Alice Tucker.

All funds donated go to MS and Parkinson's disease research.

'Too much time'

Rinkel started "Walk One Step at a Time" last year when her husband was in the Czech Republic, where Rinkel had lived from 2002-09 before moving back to Woodland.

"I had too much time on my hands," joked Rinkel, whose first stint living in Woodland lasted from 1970-93.

Another reason she started the group was because Nielsen's condition was worsening.

"I was looking to help her," Rinkel said of her friend she met while living in Colorado Springs. "I came up with a plan."

That's when Rinkel decided to walk from Woodland to San Diego.

She told her friend Judy Calvert about her plan.

"I've know Marise long enough to know we start out with a big plan and then it develops," said Calvert, a "Walk One Step at a Time" volunteer. "Literally walking one step at a time from Woodland to San Diego, I didn't have quite that vision. But I knew Marise well enough to know that somehow it was going to happen."

Rinkel was serious about walking all the way down to Southern California, but it wasn't feasible financially. So Rinkel and Nielsen decided to walk around numerous cities for a few hours at a time and then drive to the next city.

They started in Woodland on Feb. 12 and had a following of about 100.

They eventually ended up in San Diego a month later. They had hoped to raise $50,000. They walked some 400 miles in pools, malls and parks on their voyage, raising $8,000 in the process.

"A little short of the goal," Rinkel said. "That's why we are continuing (with other campaigns)."

Whether Rinkel can obtain her goal remains to be seen.

"Her heart wants to reach patients, family and friends so they have a better understanding and get their questions answered," Calvert said. "There is hope."

Said Rinkel: "That's why I'm out walking."

One step at a time.