Almost 11 years ago the Islas family was going through some major life changes. The newly married Michele and René graduated college, moved 3,000 miles away from family and were expecting their first child. Several months later, Michele received several frantic calls from René. While speaking at an event, he experienced abnormal vision behavior that unexpectedly made the audience double. After a study from the National Institutes of Health, they were able to identify the vision abnormality as optic neuritis, a symptom of multiple sclerosis. Feeling lonely and overwhelmed, Michele became involved with the National MS Society as both a coping mechanism and a way to make a difference. René may have been the one diagnosed but their family was living with MS.
As they settled into their newfound parenthood roles, they decided to take control of this disease together as a family. From the very beginning, the Islas family decided to include Max (10), Michaela (8), Myles (6), and Madison (2) with René’s doctor appointments, therapy sessions and treatments. By being fully transparent, information about their father’s diagnosis would end up being less terrifying than the unknown. The Islas family hopes that their children’s background and experience with MS will inspire them to become future advocates for multiple sclerosis.
It wasn't until the birth of Myles that she was able to really jump into her role as a volunteer. Roughly five years ago, she combined her passions of family and advocacy to create programs for young families living with MS. These programs allow families in all stages of life and of different disease progression to receive support, knowledge and strategies to help. During the 2014 MS National Leadership Convention in November, Michele Islas was inducted into National MS Society Volunteer Hall of Fame for her exceptional work in the fields of programs and services.
The Islas family has been highly involved with many of the National Capital Chapters events including: speakers for the 36th annual Ambassadors Ball, Kidventure programs participants and Walk MS team members. Already surpassing their fundraising goal, Team Islas is preparing for the upcoming Reston, VA, Walk MS 5K on April 6, 2015. As a family, they will walk together.