Changing The Face Of MS
Volunteer's efforts making a difference for Texas' disabled citizens
By QUALA MATOCHA lifestyle@leader-news.com

Former El Campo graduate Doris Williams Varnell was named to the National Mutiple Sclerosis Hall of Fame for her tireless efforts to improve the lives of those suffering with MS.

When Doris Williams Varnell of Austin became stricken with multiple sclerosis, she didn't sit idly by. Instead she became a strong advocate for herself and others with this crippling disease.

She was recently praised for her efforts as an inductee into the National MS Society's 2007 Volunteer Hall of Fame in Advocacy that honors top volunteers in fund-raising, client programs, health professionals/researcher and advocacy. The induction ceremony was held at the national conference in Dallas last week and Varnell was there.

Varnell, a 1969 graduate of El Campo High School, is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Raymond O. Williams of El Campo.

In a press release from the Lone Star Chapter, she is noted as being a key activist in the chapter's Texas advocacy efforts.

"Since Doris initially began to serve as an MS advocate, she embraced the society's core policy principles of research, health insurance, long-term care and disability rights. She uses her personal experiences to lobby for affordable health insurance coverage for the elderly and people with disabilities."

Varnell has lobbied to urge Congress, the Office of Lloyd Doggett and many of the Texas Delegation to support funding of the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

She uses her personal experiences to aid others with disabilities. She's worked with the National MS Society Home Office to edit, review and provide input on the Social Security Disability Guidebook."

Varnell has also provided ongoing counseling to those unable to work due to MS-related disabilities who might be entitled to Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) or Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits.

Varnell serves as a lead MS advocate and is readily available to assist advocacy staff with local, state and federal issues. She initiates thought-provoking discussions among staff and MS clients to create new vehicles to broaden the MS constituency.

She consistently can be called upon to testify, make legislative visits and spread the word on the Society's advocacy efforts, according to the news release. These are just a few of the many talents and gifts that she brings to the Lone Star Chapter and everyone served by the National MS Society. She is an outstanding and shining example of the positive difference that one person can make in our world."

Varnell was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 1991.

"I was having problems walking and thought I had pulled a muscle in my back," she said. "Ultimately I saw a neurologist and began the diagnostic process. I was eventually hospitalized at South Austin Hospital when I wasn't able to walk."

She underwent several medical tests to determine a diagnosis.

"The diagnostic process at that time was basically to rule out conditions with similar symptoms until only the diagnosis of MS was left," she said. "After I received steroids intravenously for five days, I walked out of the hospital with a normal walking gait."

But physical difficulties continued even after the injections.

"After I was diagnosed with MS, I had problems with walking and my balance. One day as I was leaving work, I stepped off a curb and fell toward my car. I didn't hit the pavement and it was good that my car was so close."

That is when she recalled her mother's friend, the late Grace Mauch, who had broken her hip 15 years ago.

"I remembered my mom's comment about Grace's difficulty moving around with the cast. Because of my balance and walking problems, I knew I would have more problems than Grace if I broke my leg. That was the day I decided

to forego vanity and begin using a cane. I never fell after that day."

"It is amazing how much I have learned from other people and how I've helped other people, too. I truly believe in paying it forward. I'm also very glad that I had a great education in the El Campo school system. Several years later, when I took genetics at Texas Tech, I was very glad that I had a good biology background. The information helps me understand multiple sclerosis."

Learning to use a manual wheelchair that first year was also a new experience.

Her sons Brian and Chad were 15 and 13 respectively at the time.

"I was self-conscious about being seen in public using a wheelchair," she said.

But her son Chad didn't seem to mind. In fact, he had fun with the idea.

"My sons needed things for the start of school, so we decided to go shopping at the mall. They went to the area where wheelchairs could be rented for $5 when a person turned in their driver's license," she said. "My 13 year-old son, Chad, is fun-loving and likes to tease. The wheelchair that was rented had metal parts that rattled. He would push me on the rough cobblestones at the mall to hear the chair rattle. I kept telling him to go on the smooth floor area. He knew I was slightly irritated. He wanted to show that he wasn't self-conscious about his mother using a wheelchair, and that he was in control. He would say, 'Oh mom, isn't this fun?' Needless to say, I told him that it wasn't. We have laughed about that trip for years, because it was about learning to adapt and cope."

Later on she purchase a lightweight wheelchair.

"At that time, my multiple sclerosis was termed relapsing and remitting. Sometimes I could walk with a cane and didn't need my wheelchair."

After four years using the wheelchair off and on, she decided to venture out by herself.

"In 1995, I went to see Congressman Lloyd Doggett when he was meeting people at the H-E-B parking lot," she said. "That was the first time I independently used my manual wheelchair. My son Brian had loaded my wheelchair into the trunk of my car, and I was able to get it out without any problem. I knew I would need help putting it back into my trunk after I visited with Congressman Doggett. I was afraid that I would get mugged in the parking lot. I was afraid to ask a total stranger for help. As it turned out, there was no problem. A nice man helped me. After I got into my car, I thought, 'Wow, that wasn't so bad. I think I'll go to Hobby Lobby.' And I did!"

Varnell began using a power wheelchair in 1995, and worked for the next 10 years. "I didn't stop working until 2005," she said. "I've been a volunteer with the National MS Society for several years. I have volunteered at the finish line of the MS150 bike ride from Houston to Austin every year since around 1992 or 1993."

Her first political advocacy contact was with Congressman Doggett in 1995.

"At that time, I worked at the Texas Commission for the Blind, and I became aware that funds for vocational rehabilitation were in jeopardy. After Congressman Doggett mentioned my name in a Congressional debate, I realized that one person can truly make a difference."

After she stopped working in 2005, she said, "I became more heavily involved in government advocacy with the NMSS. I gave testimony before a Senate committee that subsequently passed HCR-35. Texas is the only state that has recommended that the federal government eliminate the two year waiting period before a disabled person gets Medicare."

But her work is not yet done.

"I continue to volunteer with the Medicare T3 Coalition, 'Two years, Too long, To wait,' that is under the guidance of Robin Chandler, legislative director for State Representative Eddie Rodriguez. We hope that other states will pass similar legislation so that the federal guidelines for Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) will ultimately be changed."

Varnell is a member of the Lone Star Chapter of the NMSS, which includes Houston, Austin, San Antonio, Corpus Christi, Dallas and Fort Worth.

She is a 1985 graduate of Texas Tech University where she received a degree in education. She did occasional substitute teaching before that and was primarily a stay at home mom and later held clerical jobs.

Other work experience includes being a contract legal transcriptist. a sales administrator, sales trainee and executive assistant for Entre Computer Center, and working for Texas Commission for the Blind.

"I transferred to the Criss Cole Rehabilitation Center (part of TCB) as a career guidance instructor from December 1996 until July 2000."

Next she worked as a disability examiner at Disability Determination Services (DDS), which was originally part of Texas Rehabilitation Commission.

For assistance or questions, she can be reached at the Austin office: 512-340-2700. You may also contact her at the following address and phone numbers:

Doris (Williams) Varnell 11207 Sage Hollow Dr. Austin, TX 78758 Home phone (512) 834-8597

Cell phone (512) 626-7663

MS, which is believed to be an autoimmune disease, affects the central nervous system (CNS), including the brain, spinal cord and the optic nerves. Surrounding and protecting the nerve fibers of the CNS is a fatty tissue called myelin, which helps nerve fibers conduct electrical impulses.

In MS, myelin is lost in multiple areas, leaving scar tissue called sclerosis. These damaged areas are also known as plaques or lesions. Sometimes the nerve fiber itself is damaged or broken.

Myelin not only protects nerve fibers, but makes their job possible.

When myelin or the nerve fiber is destroyed or damaged, the ability of the nerves to conduct electrical impulses to and from the brain is disrupted, and this produces the various symptoms of MS. These symptoms can vary from person to person.

For more information about the NMSS, visit their web page is at www.nmss.org.

The web page for the Lone Star Chapter is: www.nationalmssociety. org/txh.