In 2019, after years of doctors appointments and investigations, Kelly Murphy was unfortunately diagnosed with Multiple System Atrophy. When a person receives such life changing news, they can go about their diagnosis in two ways, to just accept it and live out their days or do absolutely everything they can to check off items on their bucket list, love life and live it to the fullest. If you knew Kelly, you know she picked the latter of the choices.
Kelly and her husband Mark of 40 years spent countless hours in the car on their famous road trips and when the road couldn’t take them to where they wanted to go, they jumped on a plane or boat. They enjoyed trips to Florida, Alaska, Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, British Columbia and Alberta just to name a few. Their children and grandchildren were lucky enough to join in on a few of these adventures, including a trip to Disney!
When Kelly’s health declined further these past few years, she led her family with her positive attitude and fighting spirit. Her motto always was “Be Stronger than the Storm” and in that, Kelly certainly was!
She continued to be an inspiration to all those around her. She started a MSA blog, where family, friends and other patients can follow along on her journey. Other MSA patients reached out with questions and Kelly made them feel supported. Kelly and Mark further added to their miles traveling, so that Kelly could participate in a clinical trial in the United States (Kelly was actually the first person in the world to receive this particular MSA trial infusion!). Kelly served as a patient advocate advisor and board director for Defeat MSA/Vaincre AMS Canada, the only MSA advocacy group in Canada. By taking all these steps, Kelly hoped to raise awareness, funds and eventually find a cure for Multiple System Atrophy.
For Kelly, the first step toward a cure was awareness. “With awareness comes more support, with more support comes more research and with more research comes a cure for MSA!”
Sadly, we lost Kelly. But now, in her honour, the effort to raise awareness about this little known disease continues far and wide. Join us in this crucial effort.