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Local hero contributes to friend's fight against MS

Hope Rotary Club president Hondo Stroyan steps up to help longtime friend Greg Turnbull receive the Quality of Life grant
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Douglas Hondo Stroyan helped good friend Greg Turnbull receive the Quality of Life grant

A local hero recently helped a friend conquer the complications of Multiple Sclerosis. Douglas Hondo Stroyan (who most know as Hondo) and current president of the Hope Rotary Club,  sent a letter on behalf of his longtime friend Greg Turnbull to petition the Rick Hansen Foundation (RHF) for the Quality of Life Grant.

The grant which is for an amount up to $3,816, was awarded to Turnbull after he made an application to the foundation based on Stroyan's initial inquiry for the purchase of a scooter.

“I have done something for a friend that anyone else would have done,” Stroyan told The Hope Standard.

The mobility aid will help Turnbull enjoy a higher quality of living, as he continues to fight for and champion the cause of MS, while paying for expensive and progressive treatments that are not covered by government health insurance.

Stroyan and Turnbull's friendship started at the Scott Road Keg in the early eighties, where the team (mostly Hondo according to Turnbull) raised over $18,000 for Rick Hansen's Man-In-Motion tour in 1985.

With Stroyan’s ingenuity and business acumen, he issued a challenge to all the Keg restaurants, during Hansen's 26 month tour.

His efforts did not go unrealized, and upon Hansen's return home, Stroyan presented the foundation with another cheque totaling $80,000 for spinal cord research.

Since those glory days at the Keg, Turnbull was diagnosed with Chronic Progressive Multiple Sclerosis almost two decades ago, just as he was becoming a father. Turnbull has lost the use of his legs and his energy level dropped to the point where he was unable to work. As a result of complications from the disease he lost his job as a senior sales executive in real estate, forcing him and his young son Alex to live on a fixed disability pension.

“I do everything I can to fight MS,” said Turnbull. “I financed MRI's, scans, and several procedures that helped mitigate some symptoms.”

The efforts of friends like Stroyan, mean a better way of life for Turnbull. Stroyan is a big supporter of local fundraising efforts through his work with the Rotary.