Today we’d like to spotlight Magnus Svensson, an exceptional Team OMF member from Sweden.
A few years back, Magnus’s wife was diagnosed with Myalgic Encephalomyelitis / Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME / CFS). He decided to swiftly take action by creating a Team OMF fundraiser in support of OMF-funded research.
On June 28th of 2019, Magnus attended the UltraMarathonMarsch in Sweden to raise awareness for ME / CFS and to collect money for OMF-funded research. He challenged everyone to donate a single dollar, Euro, or Pound for every hour he stayed in the competition. He was able to stay in the marathon for a total of 20 hours and 11 minutes, raising over $4,800 for OMF!
Magnus explained, “My idea is not to equate the pain and exhaustion of a ‘long walk’ with that of ME / CFS. You can’t. I can always choose not to go for a long walk- then I wouldn’t have to be exhausted or in severe pain. With ME / CFS, you can’t choose. The patients live with pain and exhaustion around the clock. I want to inform others about ME / CFS and raise money for biomedical research led by OMF.”
Magnus didn’t stop with just one marathon. This year he has gathered a team of 4 friends: Jenny, Ida, Lisa, and David, who have all been training to walk the marathon again with the goal of fundraising for OMF. Unfortunately, the June marathon has been canceled due to the coronavirus crisis.
Regardless, this didn’t break the spirit of Magnus and his team. He says, “Although the competition won’t happen, us team members are still determined to carry out some kind of action to raise awareness of ME / CFS and money for OMF in June when the marathon walk would have been. More info to come when planning is done.”
You can stay up to date with Magnus and his team by following their Facebook page: Walk with ME – ett Fotrallylag (@wewalkwithme) and/or their Instagram account: @Team_WalkWithMe.
We are sincerely grateful for healthy allies such as Magnus and his team, and we’re so inspired by their determination & tireless efforts to raise awareness and end this devastating disease.
