Sixty-year-old Harwood resident Theresa Mannas is living with multiple sclerosis, but she doesn't let it slow her down.
She doesn't look her age. She's tanned, fit, active and cheerful - despite her MS.
"What's the point of being sad all the time?" she said. "I'd much rather laugh."
Mannas was diagnosed with MS in 1999. Multiple sclerosis is an unpredictable, often disabling disease of the central nervous system. It interrupts the flow of information within the brain, and between the brain and body.
Symptoms range from numbness and tingling to blindness and paralysis. The progress, severity and specific symptoms of MS in any one person cannot be predicted. Advances in research and treatment in recent years have helped combat the disease. Most people with MS are diagnosed between the ages of 20 and 50, with two to three times more women than men diagnosed with the disease.
MS affects more than 2.3 million people worldwide.
Mannas considers herself lucky that her symptoms are "relatively" mild, and she's able to lead a normal life with her husband of 39 years, her five grown daughters, grandchildren, three dogs and a cat, as well as working at the Eisenhower Golf Course.
Her symptoms have responded well to advances in treatment. She has gone from mixing her medicines, filling a needle and injecting herself, to pre-measured needles, to a pill a day.
"I got really tired of being a pincushion," she said. "So I was ecstatic when they developed the pill."
She is also determined to help others by supporting research into MS. For the past 16 years, she has participated in the National MS Society's Challenge Walk MS: Chesapeake Challenge, a two-day, 50K fundraising walk. Mannas and her team, Team Roadrunner, have been top fundraisers in the event, raising more than $240,000.
"We're doing it again this year, and I will continue it as long as I'm able," Mannas said.
This year the walk will be Sept. 12 and 13 at the Comfort Inn Easton and is expected to draw more than 400 walkers from the mid- Atlantic. Mannas hopes to spread awareness of the disease and spur support.
"Hopefully (this) will make people aware of this disease," she said Mannas "and how much their donations help the MS Society to find a cure and help the Maryland chapter assist those who need it."
For more information, visit www.challengewalkms.org or go to the Maryland chapter page at bit.ly/1eNvlBl.
Quarter auction
The Quarters from Heaven quarter auction will take place Sunday at the Deale Fire Department, 6007 Drum Point Road. Auction hours are from 2 to 5 p.m.; doors open at 1 p.m.
Tickets are $12 in advance or $15 at the door. Registrants will receive $10 worth of quarters for bidding purposes.
A portion of the auction proceeds will benefit the Bountiful Backpacks program, sponsored by the Rotary Club of South Anne Arundel County.
School has started, and the number of needy school children receiving weekend food supplies is 135 a week. Attendees are also asked to donate miscellaneous school supplies, which will be collected at the door.
Over 100 items will be auctioned, with a cumulative retail value exceeding $4,000. Door prizes and gift certificates will be available, along with fresh food and baked goods.
Tickets may be purchased by contacting Amanda Swan at 410-980- 3488 or alrentz8587@gmail.com.
'Beer and Bark'
Dog lovers are invited to bring their four-legged friends to Historic London Town and Gardens, 839 Londontown Road in Edgewater, for Beer and Bark, a dog-friendly happy hour, from 5 to 7:30 p.m.Sept. 16.
The event benefits the museum and the South River Federation.
Dance to music by Mixing Maryland, sip craft beers, eat barbecue from Bullhead Pit Beef and visit with local pet service businesses. Games, raffles and dog walking tours of Historic London Town will be offered.
Admission is free, with a suggested donation of $10 per person.
For more information, visit www.southriverfederation.net and www.historiclondontown.org.
Spay and neuter
The Spay Spa and Neuter Nook, 1251 West Central Ave. in Davidsonville, wants you to spay or neuter your pet.
The clinic offers low-cost surgeries (including a basic vet examination and vaccines on the day of surgery) to anyone wanting to have an animal spayed or neutered, regardless of income or location.
The cost to neuter a dog is $65 to $95; to spay a dog is $80 to $110. Cat neuters are $40, and spays are $55.
To help control the community cat population, they are offering a feral/community cat special: spay or neuter, rabies vaccine and ear tip, all for $35.
For more information, visit www.spayspa.org or call 443-607- 6496.
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