Maggie Greene

“I was diagnosed with RRMS six and a half years ago. I am a mother, a wife, a lecturer and a student. I have a busy life, but I’ve had to learn about balance. I’ve had to assess how I use my energy and identify every day what I can and cannot do. I try not to give my energy to things that will drain it these days. Plans change, life happens and I adapt. When I was first diagnosed I thought that life was over, it wasn’t, but it was inextricably changed forever in a myriad of complex ways. My identity felt shaken, I struggled to see who I once was and I kept looking back at her, wishing I could change things, but I couldn’t, so life went on. Gradually I accepted that MS was now a part of my life and I began to assess what this meant for my family. Luckily I have a huge support network around me, I’m very privileged in that regard.

At the minute I still work full time, and during the pandemic I decided to go back to university part time to study for my doctorate. This was something that I had wanted to do just before I got diagnosed, but it took some time to build my confidence up again, as I was worried that I wouldn’t be able to sustain, that I wouldn’t have the energy, that I wouldn’t be able to balance it all with home and work and all that lies in between. It’s not easy but studying again has done wonders for my sense of self, I feel like I’ve found myself again, that I’m back on the path that MS swept from under me. It’s different now, it’s not easy, but it’s my one precious life.” – Maggie Greene