Freshman’s family motivates MS fight - Emily Carlson

By Mary Kenkel, The Aquin

Freshman Erin Weber lives an active life. She is an intercollegiate swimmer for St. Thomas who comes from a tight-knit family in South St. Paul, and loves the life she lives. But after her father was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 1991, her life has been anything but easy.
“I was three years old, and he was in his early 30s,” Weber said. “It was hard for my family to deal with, at first especially.”
It was difficult for the whole Weber family to adjust to the sudden changes caused by the disease, but it was even tougher on the parents because of two young children in the house, a 3-year-old and a 7-year-old.
“It was hard for my dad to deal with it and try to figure out what he was going to do,” Weber said. “You don’t really know how it’s going to affect you, because it affects different people in different ways.
But once he got used to the idea of it, and he explained it to me and my sister, it got a little easier.
“We just had to help out around the house and help my parents a lot more since my dad had trouble doing things around the house, like the dishes, because he would get really tired,” she said.
Then in 1999, the Webers found out a cousin Shannon also had MS. Shannon was in her late 20 when she was diagnosed. Her dad’s and her cousin’s disease led Weber to greater things. She began volunteering with the MS Society, an organization that helps families affected by MS.
“When someone gets diagnosed, the doctors usually give them information on who to contact if they need help, such as the MS Society,” Weber said. “My family signed up with the society, and they sent us information every month, like news on program connections. That’s how I learned about it.”
Weber started helping out in little ways, such as with the MS Read-AThon. In eighth grade, she went to youth camp.
“[The youth camp] got me a lot more interested in helping out with the MS Society,
so I started volunteering with the Minnesota Teen Council,” she said.
The Teen Council is a group of teens affected by MS who work with other teens in the society. Weber has been the chairwoman of the council for the past two years. The Teen Council works to spread awareness of MS in schools around the area. It organized a team for the Christopher and Banks MS Walk that raised more than $7,700, according to the MS Society Web site. Along with the Christopher and Banks MS Walk, Weber has participated the past three years in the Challenge Walk, a 50-mile walk in three days. Weber organizes an annual dinner fundraiser, her father Mike said. They
serve grilled chicken, charge $5 a plate and always have a good turnout.
“She always raises a lot of money at the dinner,” Mike Weber said. “And all of the money goes back to the society.”
Because of her volunteer work with the MS Society, Weber was awarded the Leadership Volunteer All-Star Award in November. She was the youngest of three recipients this year.
“My award was mainly for my work with the teen council and also with the
challenge walk,” Weber said.
The Minnesota Teen Council also won the Youth Volunteer All-Star Award. Volunteering means more to Weber than just helping out around the neighborhood. Because of the taxing effects MS has on her dad, Weber feels a strong personal connection with the volunteer work she does.
“It makes me feel really good knowing that I’m doing something to help people with MS, like my dad and my cousin, because it’s hard for them and their families to function like normal families if there wasn’t the MS Society,” Weber said. “And, over the years, I’ve made a lot of friends that I couldn’t really live without now. I just keep going back because I love helping out.”
Along with the friends she’s made through the Teen Council, Weber has her tight-knit family to offer encouragement and support whenever she needs it.
“My family is always really supportive of me and the work I do,” Weber said. “They help me out with fundraising and any other support that I would need.”
Weber’s parents are very proud of her and happy to offer all the help they can.
“I’m extremely proud of her,” Weber’s father said. “She’s very passionate about the work she does with the MS society. When she takes on a challenge, she takes it and runs with it. She can do whatever she wants because she’s not a quitter.”
By volunteering, Weber hopes to accomplish the big goals she has set for her
future and for the future of the council.
“By volunteering, I hope that I can engage other kids and young adults to join the fight against this disease that affects not only my family and friends, but the
family and friends of so many others,” Weber said. “I hope that by volunteering, I can make a difference in the world and give back to the MS Society for all that they have done for me and my family. And also, that in my help to raise money, some day they can find a cure for MS.”