Patrycia Rzechowka always wanted to be a police officer. But, in 2012, when she was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS) after temporarily losing her vision, this goal and her overall health were compromised. Instead of letting her condition – which includes chronic fatigue – hinder her prospects, Rzechowka let it motivate her. Though some days she could barely raise her arms high enough to brush her hair, she signed up for the MS Bike Tour.
It gave me something to focus on,” Rzechowka says. “It was a way for me to feel like I was actually doing something.
She was determined to raise $1,000 and, by the end of the race, had raised $13,000. The support – and seeing what her efforts were contributing to – encouraged her to get more involved, so she teamed up with the MS Society on other projects.
Her courage, determination and dedication to help raise funds for the the MS Society netted her a cover of Avenue Edmonton in 2014, and three years later a billing as a Top 40 Under 40 contender in their November 2017 issue.
In the past seven years, Rzechowka has participated in 10 MS Bike events and spent countless hours actively working on everything from fundraising to motivational speaking, to raising awareness, to advocating for resources and support systems for those with MS.
If I have time to do it, I definitely will,” Rzechowka says. “Everyone says ‘oh you’re so busy,’ but, at the end of the day, it’s just a choice about what you do with your time. And if someone supports me, I’m definitely going to support them.
Recently, Rzechowka’s put her focus on mental health initiatives and has made meeting with others with MS a priority.
Sometimes just having someone to talk to who might know what you’re going through can help. I let people into my bad days, and they’ll say ‘thanks for actually sharing that.’
Rzechowka doesn’t bemoan not being able to work as a police officer. In 2016, she told an interviewer that her 10-year goal was to be working in a policy area related to policing – she reached that goal when, just four months later, she was promoted from a temporary role to a full-time position as a director in the provincial government’s Law Enforcement Oversight Branch.
I’ve got a lot of opportunities I never would have gotten if I hadn’t got MS,” Rzechowka says. “It’s funny, but life just kind of puts you where you’re supposed to be.
In 2018, she made a pitch to the Telus Storyhive competition and was awarded a $50,000 grant to make the 20-minute documentary: MS’d with the Wrong Girl
Her charity work drew Leven Creative cinematographer Kelly Wolfort to her story — it’s rare for someone with a disease to also be an avid fundraiser as well, he said.
I think a lot of people don’t understand what MS is,” Wolfort said. “We want to bring a little bit of light to what that is … we also want to show how it affects a young woman.
Some experiences that come with MS are difficult to explain with words, but Rzechowka hopes they will be easier to show in film. Physically, she’ll feel strange sensations at times. Mentally, the disease comes with a lot of anxiety over the possibility of losing bodily functions. The unknowns make decisions about relationships and possibilities of children difficult as well, Rzechowka added.
With an estimated 77,000 people who live with the disease, Canada has one of the highest rates of MS, according to the Multiple Sclerosis Society of Canada. That’s the bad news. The good news is that the 2019 Leduc to Camrose MS Bike fundraiser raised $1,809,286 and the 2019 Airdrie to Olds MS Bike event raised $731,943. On September 7 and 8, Hinton is holding an MS Bike fundraiser and hopes to raise another $275,000.
See more, register or donate at: http://bit.ly/2Sl9pD0
See the MS’d With the Wrong Girl Storyhive pitch at: https://www.storyhive.com/project/show/id/3953