A portage can be slow, long and sometimes insurmountable. But by working together, Felix Jasmin says you can get to the other side.
It’s an analogy he attributes to his wife Meg, who inspired the creation of the Grand Portage, a fundraising trek of hundreds of kilometers to raise money for multiple sclerosis research. .
“There’s been a lot of progress, but fundraising for the disease (research) is crucial for us,” Jasmin told CTV’s Your Morning on Wednesday.
Now in its third year, the relay connects Toronto to Montreal via Ottawa and Mont Tremblant, with teams taking turns completing sections of the course.
Jasmin, who started the trek after being diagnosed with MS in 2019, said there were 65 teams involved and more than 200 carriers this year.
Multiple sclerosis is a chronic autoimmune disease involving the body’s central nervous system, which can affect a person’s vision, memory, balance and mobility.
The Multiple Sclerosis Society of Canada says the country has some of the highest rates of the disease in the world, with around 90,000 Canadians living with the disease.
“I feel extremely privileged or lucky to do well,” Jasmin said.
“It’s a sneaky disease. It’s happened to me where you wake up one day and something’s wrong and you don’t know how long it’s going to be. So it’s about trying to live in the right now but there are a lot of my friends who have MS who aren’t as lucky as I am, and that’s why we do it.”
The relay started on September 29 and is scheduled to end on Sunday, when there will also be a virtual event where participants can run, walk or ride in support of the fundraiser.
Watch the full interview with Felix Jasmin at the top of the article. With files from CTV News.