Multiple sclerosis is a debilitating, irreversible disease.

However, that doesn’t daunt Emma Prihoda.

Emma, an 8-year-old from Albert Lea, and her family were touched by MS when her father, Brandon, was diagnosed with the disease last November.

She got the idea for the bake sale from another fundraiser she went to. Emma said that she went to the fundraiser and there was food available, which gave her the idea to do a bake sale to raise money for MS research to help find a cure.

Over 2.3 million people worldwide have MS, according to the National MS Society’s website. MS is an autoimmune disease where the immune system eats away at the protective coating, or myelin, over nerves.

Myelin can be compared to the insulation on electrical wires, the Mayo Clinic website said. Severe cases of MS leave people unable to walk or speak. There is no cure yet and the cause is still unknown.

When she announced she wanted to do a charity bake sale, Emma got a handful of help. Emma’s friends, Callie and Sophia Brownlee, made some baked goods for the sale. Some of the treats were donated. Emma also made some of the food with her grandmother. Her sister Madison, 12, and the Brownlees helped sell the goods.

Emma, her father and her grandmother all said that she was selling a lot. She held the bake sale during her parents’ garage sale Friday and sold over $170 worth of baked goods all in one day.

Brandon Prihoda said he was proud of his daughter for coming up with the idea by herself. He also mentioned that she had some other fundraisers in the works as well.

Emma hopes to hold a benefit to raise money for MS. She said that the entertainment could include dancing by her and her friends as well as viola and violin by her sister and her sister’s friend. She also wants to have more bake sales.

These fundraisers would probably come next year, Emma’s father said.