Meet Lew Moore. Lew was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis in January of 2003. His first MS symptom occurred in his eyes. His right eye was weak, and the left eye kept trying to compensate which would cause his eyes to shake. During the month it took to get his diagnosis, Lew got to experience a spinal tap, an MRI, and numerous blood tests.
Of the challenges that Lew is proud of overcoming, one was, “accepting the diagnosis and moving on with his life.” One of his passions is baseball and over the past 19 years, he has coached T-Ball, Little League and Junior/Senior Leagues. He has been able to coach all of his children as they were growing up and plans on coaching again next year when his grandson will be old enough to play. He says, “When you make a difference in a kid’s life, it’s all worth it and I wouldn’t trade that for anything.”
Lew recalls going to the Roanoke Valley MS Support group back when there were only 6 or 7 participants, and he remembers when the MSAV was formed. Lew states, “The MSAV stands for what I had always hoped for. Nineteen years ago, when I was diagnosed, I thought it was a death sentence. There was nothing in Roanoke to teach or educate about MS. There was no Google and barely anything in the library other than ‘….bed ridden, take it easy, blah, blah, blah…’. My neurologist told me I would be in a wheelchair within 4 years.” Eventually his neurologist moved, and he began seeing Dr. Gordon Burch, who introduced Lew to the Roanoke Valley MS Support Group. Lew shares, “Suzanne is my hero. It is important to be around others who ‘get it’ and to see all the people with MS positively living their lives.”
When asked what advice he would share with other men who are affected with MS, Lew answered, “Nobody has ever died directly from MS. Once you push through the depression, there is so much to live for. Knowledge is empowering – depression comes from the unknown. Once you educate yourself about this disease, you can start living your life.”
One thing that can instantly make Lew’s day better is baseball. “I love baseball,’ Lew says, “Last year I got to see my first Major League game. It was so awesome! We were on vacation, one of those where you just get in the car, pick a direction, and start driving. We ended up in St. Louis and everyone wanted to see the arch. While we were there, I looked around and saw people all over the place with Atlanta Braves jerseys on. I asked and someone told me the Braves were playing the Cardinals, so I got tickets. It was the chance of a lifetime.”
Strike Out MS was created by Lew and his family to raise awareness in the community about MS, to let others know they were not alone and to raise money for the MSAV. Lew says, “Strike out started with the things that were taken away from me by MS. My motorcycle, my guitar and playing pool. So, I took what was taken from me and put together an event to raise money.” The first one had a concert, motorcycle ride, pool tournament and vendors. In the years following, there have been more pool tournaments and bowling tournaments as well. Lew and his family hope to be doing large events again in the future and need volunteers. If anyone wants to help, you can send an email to msav4hope@gmail.com and put Strike Out in the subject line.