After trying for more than 13 years to have a baby, Oak Hill's Mary Mason gave birth to her daughter Madie. She's now 7 1/2 and the light of Mason's life but, after she was born, doctors diagnosed Mason with MS (multiple sclerosis).
"Having my daughter was the happiest time in my life," she said. "And then, two months later, I was devastated."
But her fighting spirit took hold and, before long, Mason became an avid and enthusiastic fund-raiser for MS. And on Sunday, April 18, in Reston, she and her team plan on raising thousands of dollars toward a cure during the annual MS Walk.
Registration is from 8-10 a.m. at the pavilion near Clyde's restaurant in the Reston Town Center, and participants may then walk either a 3 1/2- mile or a six-mile path through the neighborhoods near the town center.
EINSTEIN BROTHERS Bagels and Starbucks Coffee will provide free refreshments during registration, and Clyde's is offering a free lunch to all participants, between 11:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m.
There's no entrance fee but, said Mason, "The goal is for each participant to raise $125." For more information or to register in advance, go to the Web site, www.msandyou.org, and click on the MS Walk icon.
"My team is Mary's Marchers and, for the past five years, we've been the top fund-raiser in the Washington, D.C. Metropolitan area," said Mason, 44. "Last year, we raised $46,000, and the event raised a total of $700,000."
Her team has 80-100 members from all over the area, and Mason raised $15,000 of its 2003 MS Walk total, herself. Madie attends Chesterbrook Academy in Chantilly, and Chesterbrook is a major sponsor of the team, contributing $13,000 toward last year's efforts.
Mason and her husband Chuck have been married 22 years, and she established the team, seven years ago, when their daughter was just 6 months old. "After her birth, my right leg was dragging, so I went to the doctor," said Mason. She was then referred to specialists and was eventually diagnosed with MS.
"I thought I was going to die or be in a wheelchair," she said. "For half a year, I put my head in the sand. But I realized that sitting around, doing nothing, wouldn't help me. And I've always worked out and believed in keeping myself as healthy, as possible."
Now, Mason swims a mile, three or four times a week; goes biking; works out with weights, three times a week, and works with a trainer at a health club. Although she uses a cane to walk, it's a stylish one — by designer Louis Vuitton, she notes proudly.
And, admittedly, at times, she gets fatigued. But, said Mason, "I have a supportive husband and a great, little kid, and they're what keeps me going. I used to be a mortgage banker, 24-7, and now I'm a full-time mom and MS fund-raiser. My career has changed, and my marketing degree has definitely kicked in."
JUST RECENTLY, for example, she got the Chantilly Country Club Swim Team to hold a fund-raising yard sale. The event was March 20, at the Sully Station Community Center in Centreville, and raised $2,000 toward the upcoming MS Walk in Reston.
And on May 2, her team will compete for its fourth year in a row in an MS fund-raiser at Victoria Station Salon and Day Spa in Vienna. "The employees all work for free that Sunday — doing hair, nails, etc. — and donate their earnings to the event," said Mason. For reservations, call 703-242-7500.
Anyone not wishing to participate in either this event or the MS Walk may still contribute to the team by going to the Web site, typing in "Mary's Marchers" and "Mary Mason" and following the directions.
So what keeps Mason going? "I want to be part of the cure," she explained. "People need to be aware of MS because it can hit people so differently. And I think it's important to find some way to stop it or put it in remission."
Actually, she said, people's attitudes toward her own MS have helped. "When they see my cane and find out what I have, they ask, 'What can I do for you?' said Mason. "I tell them they can help me fund-raise."