Nemesio Cuadrado, a resident of Villamuriel de Cerrato, completed this Wednesday in Santiago de Compostela one of those pilgrimages that explain why the Camino continues to excite so many people. He has done it after walking the French Way since Saint Jean Pied de Port, with more than 700 kilometers behind him and with an added difficulty that makes his arrival an example of effort and commitment: he has walked with two knee prostheses.
Their objective was not only to reach Praza do Obradoiro, but to give visibility to multiple sclerosis and the role of those who live with this disease every day.
His story also has a deeply personal background. Nemesio's wife, Fonsy, has suffered from multiple sclerosis for more than twenty years, and throughout this time he has become her main daily support.
That is why he decided to transform his pilgrimage into a charitable cause: dedicate each stage to the people affected by the disease, demand more attention for this reality and help the Palencia Multiple Sclerosis Association in its daily work.
The arrival in Santiago has put the finishing touch to several weeks of physical effort. During the tour he also had to deal with discomfort in his knees and a fall that caused problems with his wrist. Even so, he managed to continue until he reached the Cathedral of Santiago.
Nemesio acknowledged feeling excited to complete the journey after receiving support for weeks from family, friends and many people who followed his challenge through social networks and the media.
But this Camino has not only been a story of personal improvement.
The pilgrim has also taken advantage of the visibility of his journey to demand more resources for the Palencia Multiple Sclerosis Association, which needs a larger space to be able to adequately develop therapies, group activities and different services for the more than 400 people affected by the disease in the province.
Upon his arrival in Santiago, members of the association received him by surprise with a simple message that perfectly summarized the entire trip:
“Thank you for every step.”
And perhaps there is no better phrase to define this pilgrimage.
Because Nemesio has not walked only for himself. He has walked for his wife, for caregivers and for those who live daily with an illness whose symptoms are often not visible to others.
In times when some stories of the Camino attract attention for their extravagance, Nemesio's reminds us of another of the great reasons why thousands of people continue to put on a backpack and follow the yellow arrows.
Walk for someone.
Give visibility to a cause.
Get over yourself.
And arriving in Santiago after more than 700 kilometers knowing that each step had a reason.
With two knee prostheses and a charitable cause behind him, Nemesio Cuadrado leaves one of the most exciting human stories of this summer on the Camino de Santiago.
