Cycle trek over, fundraising target in sight for Gisborne’s Karen Whitehead

The fundraising participants in the Ride for MS 2025 take a break in their week-long trek through Cambodia. They are, from left, Roxanne Rooney, Ian Latham, Barry Taylor, Vereana Wheatley, John O'Keeffe and Karen Whitehead. Donations can be made until the end of the month (see story). Photo / Supplied

Karen Whitehead has just completed a week-long bike trek through Cambodia to raise funds to support those with multiple sclerosis (MS) – but she hasn’t finished yet.

She is just over halfway towards her fundraising target, and donations can be made until the end of the month.

Whitehead is field officer for MS Gisborne-East Coast, and the Ride for MS fundraising trek had personal significance.

She lost husband James to a heart attack in February, and Cambodia was one of the countries he had always wanted to visit.

“When this fundraising opportunity came up with MS New Zealand I knew I had to do it for both of us,” she said.

As an MS field officer, Whitehead ensures those with MS and their carers have access to support, alternative therapies, social interaction and community engagement.

“I am passionate about my role as my mother [Lyn Robinson] was diagnosed in her early 40s with multiple sclerosis,” she said.

MS is a chronic disease of the central nervous system. It is thought to be an autoimmune disorder in which the body attacks itself. MS is unpredictable. Some people have only mild symptoms. Others may lose their ability to see clearly, write, speak or walk when communication between the brain and other parts of the body becomes disrupted.

No cure is known, but treatment can speed recovery from attacks, modify the course of the disease and manage symptoms.

Participants in the Ride for MS each had a fundraising target of $3000, of which a third would go to the nominated regional MS society and the rest would be kept by MS New Zealand to fund national advocacy, information and education, and support for regional societies.

Donations can still be made through the Ride for MS 2025 web page (search MS New Zealand - Cambodia Cycle 2025) by scrolling down to the fundraisers and clicking on Karen Whitehead’s name.