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Kids in his town were using trash bags as backpacks. He had a chance to change that, and he did.

Mike Morse is an attorney who lives in Michigan, where he owns and runs a law firm.


Hold the attorney jokes 'til you hear about what he did. This guy's a class act. Images and GIFs via The Mike Morse Law Firm/YouTube.

Toward the end of last school year, he learned there was a serious need for backpacks and supplies in local Detroit schools. So he decided to give 400 backpacks to kids in need.

That's when he was hit with a stark reality.

The need for backpacks and school supplies in Detroit is so much bigger.

Morse was humbled by the scope of the situation. "The truth is," he told me by phone, "I didn't even know it was a need. I was not aware that kids didn't have backpacks — that they were taking garbage bags to school with the limited supplies they had in them. I just didn't even know."

Morse decided he needed to do something much bigger.

Last month, he donated 23,000 backpacks stuffed with supplies to students from kindergarten through fifth grade in the Detroit public school system.

That's a lot of backpacks and school supplies. I'd heard the number $250,000 in relation to the donation, so I asked Morse about it — whether that was accurate and whether he was the one who donated the money. He told me that yeah, he wrote the check and yeah, it was for a quarter of a million dollars.

But he asked me not to focus on that number — or the fact that he was behind it — for this article.

What he wanted to talk about was the23,000 kids who get to attend school with the things they need. The kids who were no longer carrying trash bag to class or missing essential supplies — the kids who felt more "worthy," as Morse said, of studying and succeeding in school.

The cool thing about giving is that it truly benefits the giver as much the recipients.

I asked Morse what it was like, seeing the kids receive their backpacks and open them up. "Oh, my God. It brought tears to my eyes," he told me.

"I got a call from a mother who said the day before I gave her daughter the backpack, they were at a store and they literally had to make a decision between pencils and a new outfit for school ... they were going without pencils until my backpack came. I get chills and well up with tears," he said, trailing off.

The things we take for granted...

School supplies are important to kids. As many of us parents know, many kids are given supply lists at the beginning of each school year. But we don't always stop to think about what happens to the kids whose families can't afford to buy the supplies on those lists, especially when that's the case for at least half the class.

"I have three daughters, and every year we go and get backpacks and supplies," Morse said. "We take it for granted. My kids get backpacks and supplies, whether they need them or not. I wanted the kids to have that experience. It's just a fairness thing."

...even the small things can be so vital.

Morse also included a reusable water bottle in each backpack. He thought of it as just a throw-in item for fun, but he later heard from the teachers that the bottles were actually a big deal. "It's 90 degrees in the schools that have no A/C," Morse told me, "and they are all using these water bottles."

Teachers have said that the backpacks and supplies are really helping to level the playing field for the kids.

In a city where more than half the children live in poverty, an act of kindness like this makes a big difference. And in some schools that benefited from the donations, things are even more dire. Morse told me that one principal said that over 70% of his school's students live in poverty.

The backpacks aren't going to fix all the problems in Detroit schools, but the people who work with the kids every day — the principals and teachers — agree: This is a big deal.

Principal Davenport, who called the donation "phenomenal."

Marcus Davenport, the principal at Edison Elementary School in Detroit, said about the donation, "We definitely have students who come to school without backpacks. Some students come to school without uniforms. So when you have a gentleman like Mike Morse who donated 23,000 backpacks, that's just phenomenal."

Davenport also had some wise words for his students — many of whom may be at an economic disadvantage now, but he encourages them to reach their full potential: "It's important that people give to you when you're in need, but you don't want to be a recipient all your life. You want to be the person that's giving. And I encourage my students to one day be in this same position, to make the world a better place."

Perhaps most important? The students were shown that people in their community care about them.

Morse knows that a lot of people care, but he said they might not know how or where to help. He's hoping that people are inspired to help the kids in their own communities if they can.

"It's really important for these kids ... to see another person, a business, come in with this type of gift," he said. "To care about them — it can go really deep in their souls and they will remember that other people care."

As for his future plans, he's now fundraising because he wants to help even more students across Michigan get the supplies they need next school year. You can visit Morse's website and, if you're interested and able, make a donation.

Check out this short video about the backpack giveaway and see what it meant to the students.

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Three women, three MS journeys: How multiple sclerosis looks different for everyone

Gina, Nathalie and Helga share their reactions to being diagnosed with MS and how they stay informed and positive in the face of ever-changing symptoms.

Courtesy of Sanofi

Helga, Nathalie and Gina all have MS, and their experiences show how differently the disease can manifest.

True

It’s been 155 years since neurologist Jean-Martin Charcot gave the first lecture on a mysterious progressive illness he called “multiple sclerosis.” Since then, we’ve learned a lot. We know MS causes the immune system to attack healthy tissue, including damaging the brain and spinal cord. Resulting symptoms can be debilitating and include fatigue, blurred vision, memory problems and weakness. Huge advancements in our understanding of MS and its underlying causes, as well as treatment advances, have been made in the past few decades, but MS remains a complex and unpredictable reality for the 2.8 million+ people diagnosed around the world.

Ironically, the only real constant for people living with MS is change. There’s no set pattern or standard progression of the disease, so each person’s experience is unique. Some people with MS have mild symptoms that worsen slowly but sometimes improve, while others can have severe symptoms that drastically alter their daily lives.

All people with MS share some things in common, however, such as the need to stay informed on the ever-evolving research, find various lines of support and try to remain hopeful as they continue living with the disease.

To better understand what navigating life with MS really looks like, three women shared their MS stories with us. Their journeys demonstrate how MS can look different for different people and interestingly, how the language used to talk about the disease can greatly impact how people understand their realities.

woman with horse, woman riding horseGina loves riding her horse, Benita.Courtesy of Sanofi

Gina—Hamburg, Germany (diagnosed with relapsing multiple sclerosis in 2017)

When her youngest son was 4 months old, Gina started having problems with her eye. She’d soon learn she was experiencing optic neuritis—her first symptom of MS.

“Immediately after the diagnosis, I looked up facts on MS because I didn’t know anything about it,” Gina says. “And as soon as I knew what could really happen with this disease, I actually got scared.”

As her family’s primary income provider, she worried about how MS would impact her ability to work as a writer and editor. Her family was afraid she was going to end up in a wheelchair. However, for now, Gina’s MS is managed well enough that she still works full-time and is able to be active.

“When I tell somebody that I have MS, they often don't believe me the first time because I don't fulfill any stereotypes,” she says.

Overwhelmed by negative perspectives on living with MS, Gina sought support in the online MS community, which she found to be much more positive.

“I think it’s important to use as many positive words as you can when talking about MS.” It’s important to be realistic while also conveying hope, she says. “MS is an insidious disease that can cause many bad symptoms…that can be frightening, and you can't gloss over it, either.”

To give back to the online community that helped her so much, Gina started a blog to share her story and help others trying to learn about their diagnosis.

Though she deals with fatigue and cognitive dysfunction sometimes, Gina stays active swimming, biking, riding horses and playing with her sons, who are now 11 and 6.

Cognitive dysfunction is common in MS, with over half of people affected. It can impact memory, attention, planning, and word-finding. As with many aspects of MS, some people experience mild changes, while others face more challenges.

Gina says that while there’s still a lot of education about MS needed, she feels positive about the future of MS because there’s so much research being done.

woman in wheelchair holding medal, woman rowingNathalie is an award-winning rower with multiple international titles.Courtesy of Sanofi

Nathalie — Pennes Mirabeau, France (diagnosed with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis in 2002)

Nathalie was a teenager and a competitive athlete when she noticed her first symptoms of MS, but it would take four years of “limbo” before she was diagnosed.

“Ultimately, the diagnosis was more of a relief, than a shock,” she says. “Because when you have signs and you don’t know why, it’s worse than knowing, in the end, what you have.”

However, learning more about the disease—and the realities of disease progression—scared her.

“That glimpse of the future was direct and traumatic,” she says. Her neurologist explained that the disease evolves differently for everyone, and her situation might end up being serious or very mild. So, she decided to stop comparing herself to others with MS.

She said to herself, “We’ll see what happens, and you’ll manage it bit by bit.”

By 2005, Nathalie’s MS had progressed to the point of needing a wheelchair. However, that has not dampened her competitive spirit.

Nathalie began her international rowing career in 2009 and has won multiple world titles, including two Paralympic medals—silver in London and bronze in Tokyo. Now, at 42, she still trains 11 times a week. Fatigue can be a problem, and sometimes hard workouts leave her with muscle stiffness and shaking, but she credits her ongoing sports career for helping her feel in tune with her body’s signals.

“Over the years, I’ve learned to listen to my body, letting my body guide when I need to stop and take breaks,” she says.

Nathalie explains that she used to only look backwards because of the initial shock of her diagnosis. In time, she stopped thinking about what she couldn’t do anymore and focused on her future. She now lives in the following mindset: “Even when doors close, don’t miss out on those that open.” Instead of focusing on what she can’t do, she focuses on the opportunities she still has. Right now, this includes her training for the 2024 Paralympic Games in Paris, where she will compete for another rowing medal.

“I only go forward,” she says. “Well, I try, anyway…It’s easy to say, it’s not always easy to do. But that’s what I try to do.”

woman exiting water after swimming, woman with great daneHelga's Great Dane has become a helpful and beloved companion.Courtesy of Sanofi

Helga—Johannesburg, South Africa (diagnosed with relapsing multiple sclerosis in 2010)

When Helga first started having balance issues and numbness in her feet, she chalked it up to her training as a runner. But when the numbness moved to her face, she knew something was wrong. She never guessed it was MS.

“When I was diagnosed, I felt completely overwhelmed and clueless,” Helga says. “I felt that I had nowhere near enough information. I did not know anything about the disease…I had no idea that it was going to be a process of continually monitoring and adjusting your lifestyle.”

In the beginning, Helga’s symptoms developed slowly, and she didn’t appear ill to others. She was even able to run for a few years after her diagnosis, but she couldn’t do marathons anymore, and she began to fall frequently due to balance issues and right-foot dragging. Then her cognition issues became more problematic, especially in her job as a trainer in a printing company.

“My executive function, decision-making and short-term memory were affected to the point that I was eventually medically unfit for work,” she says. She stopped working in 2017.

However, she didn’t stop living life. Even though she could no longer run, she continued to swim competitively. She got a Great Dane puppy and trained him as a service dog to help her walk. She also serves as vice chair of the patient support organization Multiple Sclerosis South Africa, and she advises others who have been diagnosed to join a patient advocacy group as soon as possible to get reliable information and meet others with MS.

Helga says she is “hopeful” about the future of MS. “I must say that I am so grateful that we have all the new medications available, because my life would not be the same if it wasn't for that,” she adds.

Part of how she manages her MS is by looking at the positives.

“If I could tell the world one thing about MS, it would be that MS is an incurable disease of the nervous system, but it's also the greatest teacher of valuing your health, family, friends, and managing change in your life,” she says. “My life is diversified in a way that I never, ever thought it would, and MS has been honestly the greatest teacher.”

Each MS journey is unique – with each person impacted experiencing different struggles, successes, and feelings as they manage this unpredictable disease. But the common thread is clear – there is a critical need for information, support, and hope. We are proud to participate in World MS Day and share these incredible stories of living life while living with MS. To learn more about MS, go to https://www.sanofi.com/why-words-really-matter-when-it-comes-to-multiple-sclerosis.

MAT-GLB-2301642-v1.0-05/2023

This article was sponsored by Sanofi. Participants were compensated when applicable.

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