Alicia Alsberg knows Oshkosh's sidewalks better than anyone else. She has spent months pounding the pavement in the city's neighborhoods to train for Door County's Challenge Walk to end MS.
"I don't want other families to go through what we went through," she explains.
Alicia's mom, Carol Horton, was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis when she was 21. After having children, she became wheelchair bound. The disease robbed her of doing the things she loved which included hiking and camping. A few months after her 47th birthday, Carol passed away from MS.
"Birthdays. Holidays. It's a struggle not having my mom here."
Now having two daughters of her own, Alicia is more determined than ever to help find better treatments or even a cure.
"You never know who's going to be diagnosed. I'm walking for those that may not even be diagnosed yet, so kind of walking for the future I guess."
Alicia and her family have participated in other walks, but the Challenge Walk will test her body like never before. She'll cover 50 miles in three days. She says memories of her mother will inspire her to make it to the finish line.
"I think sometimes when my legs are hurting, feet are hurting, hips are hurting, once I'm hitting the 12 mile mark, I mean it's just slow down a second and think about her and on I go," she chuckles.
Alicia has raised over half of her nearly $11,000 goal. She mails out brochures, does email blasts and bakes cookies in the shape of a shoe. Her daughters hand them out in the neighborhood to help bring in donations.
"It's amazing. I mean I'm really blessed with all the support that everyone's giving me."
Alicia's husband is her biggest cheerleader.
"To see what she's doing for other people of course just makes you love the person more than what you already do," says Rory Alsberg.
The money Alicia raises will go to the National MS Society to fund programs and services for patients as well as research which continues to see breakthroughs.
"They may have figured out how to reverse the actual damage on your brain, so I mean there's actually hope," she says.
Alicia's hope is to create a world free of MS.
"Every step that I'm taking, it's making a difference."
Rory adds, "It's been a neat journey to see, and I know she's going to do great."
The Door County race is September 16th-18th. If Alicia hits her fundraising goal, she will have raised $30,000 total since she started walking back in 2009.
