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Kristy and the Rock ‘n’ Roll half marathon

Ten years ago, Kristy Draper thought she knew exactly where her life was heading. She was 26, had a great group of friends, had travelled the world and had just started a new job she loved. After waking up one morning after a day at the Spring Racing Carnival, she thought nothing of the pins and needles in her right hand. A month on and the pins and needles had spread to her entire arm and throughout her whole body. “I was struggling to type or write at work, do up my own clothing and, the horror of all horrors, I couldn’t even put my makeup on!” said Kristy.

As a fit and healthy young woman, Kristy had little knowledge of what the future with MS looked like. The life that she had previously imagined was replaced with a big black question mark. “For myself and the 23,000 other Australians living with MS this is the challenge – not knowing what may happen or how it will affect your body,” she says.

Her friends and family came on the journey of learning about MS and how to live with it with her. With their supporter, Kristy says she is the strongest and healthiest she has ever been.

To celebrate her progress, Kristy and her husband, Michael will be running the Rock ‘n’ Roll half marathon in Las Vegas next month. Over the past 8 months, learning to run properly and learning to enjoy it has been a major hurdle. When Kristy was first diagnosed with MS, she assumed she would end up in a wheelchair. But instead, she is running 21km! With a month to go until their big run, Kristy and Michael have raised an incredible $10,800 for Kiss Goodbye to MS.

Good luck Kristy and Michael! Sending you luck, good vibes and a whole lot of energy!