42 kilometers pushing their mother in a wheelchair: the moving story of Éric and Silvia

Barcelona42.195 kilometers together. Mother and son, running a marathon. 42.195 kilometers receiving messages from other runners, amazed to see Silvia Roldán and Èric Domingo together. Mom, smiling, talking with other runners. And the quieter son, focused on setting a good time while pushing Silvia's wheelchair. Domingo has been participating in races for almost ten years, pushing his mother's wheelchair. She has been suffering from multiple sclerosis for 25 years, a disease that affects more than 9,000 people in Catalonia.

"I was seven years old when my mother started feeling dizzy. Science wasn't as advanced as it is now, and it took a while to get a diagnosis. It took a year and a half of tests to find out," explains Èric. But back then, he didn't know what was happening. Initially, his parents hid that information from him. "Mom started therapy and went to a psychologist. When I was about fourteen or fifteen, things got worse. Severe attacks of vertigo and she lost vision in one eye. When they saw how I was doing, they told me. They talked to me and gave me an informational sheet. I was young, I was young, I was young, I was turkeyI reacted badly, angrily, cursing everything. I didn't deal with it properly, but luckily my parents raised me well, and over time my way of seeing things changed. I could have denied it or I could have been a good son. That's what I did," says Èric, an only child with no cousins. There wasn't a larger network to help Silvia, then.

It was hard for Èric to see a mother he admires suffering. "She's a woman from that generation who would do anything to get ahead. She never stopped working, she did everything. She had a toy store, she was a stylist, a hairdresser, an accountant... and she loved sports, she's always done things. When the Vespa races were held in Montjuïc, she was one of the first women to participate. She's always loved the world of motorcycles. When I played indoor soccer, she would go to the training sessions, but she couldn't sit still, so she asked the other mothers to play matches against each other. "That's how it is, she is," he explains. With a mother like that, he can't sit still either. Until he was seventeen, he played soccer, but he also practiced martial arts, table tennis, winter sports... and then, he started running. "When I was already running, my mother got worse. She'll be nine this May. In a short time, she went from using a folding cane and riding a motorcycle to needing crutches. And then, a wheelchair. We had to move. We lived in a room without an elevator and we had to move to a smaller place," his son recalls.

It was then that he discovered the career "Get moving for multiple sclerosis", the first charity race in Catalonia, which is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year. Upon learning of the race, Èric had an idea: to do it with his mother. "She told me I was crazy; it was the darkest moment. But she also has that touch of madness. We did it and we liked it, so we took a step forward: we would run the Barcelona Marathon in 2017," he explains. And they haven't stopped. In total, they've completed nine marathons, in places like Valencia, London, Milan, and Abu Dhabi. This last one was a guest event when they broke the Guinness World Record for completing a marathon while pushing a wheelchair in 2021, with a time of 2 hours and 53 minutes in Barcelona. "This way, we can raise awareness and inspire," says Èric.

A day of celebration

"When we race, it's beautiful. At first, she didn't know what to do, whether to be quiet or talk. She was excited and quiet until the end. But as time went by, she became more extroverted, as she usually is. She understood whether I was suffering or not, and decided whether to encourage me or go ahead. Depending on the race, they tell us things. And she encourages them too. Running marathons is beautiful, but the two of us never want to miss each other." "Get moving for multiple sclerosis." The reason? "It's a special, different race, where we share many things with people who suffer similar situations. It's not just the race, it's the entire program of activities." Organized by the Multiple Sclerosis Foundation at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, this year the race celebrates its 25th anniversary with a party on Saturday the 29th, presented by Santi Millán, the sponsor of this initiative, which aims to raise funds to support the various projects promoted by the FEM to provide psychological, occupational, and neurorehabilitation support. The race will once again be held at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, and participants can choose between running the regular race, walking, cycling, or rollerblading. In addition to the races, the morning will be full of activities for the whole family, such as climbing walls, inflatables, and children's workshops. All funds raised through this charity campaign will go to the various support programs of the Multiple Sclerosis Foundation, with the aim of improving the quality of life of people with multiple sclerosis.

"Unfortunately, there's still a lot to do. Once you're diagnosed with the disease, family members feel a bit lost. Institutions need more proactivity, informing people about programs and aid. Organizations like the FEM (Federal Women's Fund) are very helpful, but waiting for more than a week's workload isn't always enough. The minimum disability allowance for patients to receive the aid they deserve," says Éric, who a year ago, along with Silvia, received an award from the Spanish Society of Neurology for the work they've done to raise awareness of a disease for which much research remains to be done. Every step Éric takes, pushing his mother, is taken with the hope of moving in this direction. And with the pride of seeing how Silvia remains the same outgoing woman she always was, talking with other runners.