Collegiate Times

A Tech alumnus is walking across the country, from Massachusetts to California, to raise awareness for Multiple Sclerosis, more commonly known as MS.

Stephen Homsey, who graduated in 2008, is making a documentary of his walk and the people he encounters to raise awareness and money for MS victims.

“I’m filming a documentary as I walk for MS throughout the country in different regions,” Homsey said. “Seeing what people have access to, what they’ve gained and what they’ve lost.”

Homsey doesn’t have MS himself, but he got involved with the cause after experiencing a fall two years ago in which he broke his back and several other bones.  

This accident left him immobilized for two months.  

“I knew I was getting better, but a thought I had was if ‘I wasn’t ever going to get better, what would it be like?’” Homsey said. “It’s the same concept with MS, when you have an attack it limits what you are able to do. A majority (of victims) are unable to do those functions for the rest of their
life.”

Homsey’s experience inspired him to create Steps4MS, a charitable organization to raise awareness for the disease.  The causes of MS are still a mystery to science, and treatments are limited.

“Every attack of MS is different,” Homsey said. “One person could just have numbness in the hand, another could have loss of vision, and another could
progressively get worse and eventually pass away from it.”

Homsey is interviewing individuals who suffer from MS across the country to highlight their specific situations.  He has already seen a variety of cases and treatments, but no easy solutions.

There are medicines available to treat MS, but they often have severe side effects. “You might have one week out of commission in the month, but the rest of the month, you might feel as good as normal,” Homsey said. “So for three weeks out of the four they can function normally, but that other week they’re completely out of it.”

Homsey spoke with one woman who chose to forgo medication and manage her MS with diet and exercise. 

This decision was met with positive results.   “If you work out every day, it lessens the severity of the attacks, reducing the rate of atrophy in your muscles,” Homsey said. “That’s not scientifically proven to reverse the effects of MS, but a lot of people are having success improving their quality of life.”

Homsey said he hopes the documentary will bring a focus to individuals, as well as to research. 

A few patients he has already spoken with said that their biggest issues were with insurance coverage, as well as finding doctors who were able to assist them.  Homsey’s path will take him through Blacksburg around June 19th and he is planning on hosting an event.

For more information, check out Homsey’s blog at steps4ms.org.

A version of this article appeared in the Jun 2 issue of the Collegiate Times.