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When people are diagnosed with an illness or have mobility problems, they face a lot of firsts. The first time trying anything is rarely going to be easy and by the time the day comes around, the worry can be blown out of all proportion.
The Art of MS – Symptoms Under the Spotlight’ is an art exhibition created by MS Ireland in partnership with Novartis Ireland opening on Thursday May 26th featuring 12 original works of art created by people living with MS in Ireland. The exhibition has been organised to raise awareness of MS and the wide-ranging symptoms to mark World MS Day 2022.
My name is Siobhan Lynch and I am one of the Regional Community Workers in the Southern Region which covers Cork & Kerry. I form part of the Southern Regional Team and work alongside my colleagues Patricia Lucey, Aideen Connolly and Wendy Knott. We each have our own areas within the region that we cover and I cover the County of Kerry- the beloved Kingdom!
I have been working with MS Ireland for the past 20 years and I really enjoy the work that I do. I work Monday – Wednesday providing mainly one on one support to people with Multiple Sclerosis. I also engage with other family members such as their spouse/ partner, or parents or children where needs be
My name is Siobhan Lynch and I am one of the Regional Community Workers in the Southern Region which covers Cork & Kerry. I form part of the Southern Regional Team and work alongside my colleagues Patricia Lucey, Aideen Connolly and Wendy Knott. We each have our own areas within the region that we cover and I cover the County of Kerry- the beloved Kingdom!
I have been working with MS Ireland for the past 20 years and I really enjoy the work that I do. I work Monday – Wednesday providing mainly one on one support to people with Multiple Sclerosis. I also engage with other family members such as their spouse/ partner, or parents or children where needs be
I was diagnosed in October of 2016. The diagnosis changed me, it made me less confident, less self-assured, more self-conscious and very worried for my future. I didn’t feel like myself any more. I had always been very independent, I didn’t want MS to rob me of that. I wanted to be able to take care of my children, I wanted to be able to provide for them. I wanted my life to just stay the same. I didn’t realise back then that things would have to change to accommodate this new addition to our lives
This year HELL & BACK is sponsored again by the brilliant nineDots.io - Technology Recruitment.io and they have chosen MS Ireland as one of their charity partners for 2022 along with Pieta & Peter McVerry Trust. nineDots have kindly sponsored MS Ireland with 14 tickets (normally €70) for the event on Sat October 1st 2022!
I’ve lived with MS for almost a decade now and I’ve encountered numerous other people living with MS, most of whom have gone on to become very good friends of mine. One of the first topics of conversation between friends with MS is the initial diagnosis of their condition.
The when/where/how of their journey with MS. These stories can vary greatly depending on the stage of life, the family circumstances, and the financial circumstances of the person around the time that they were diagnosed.
MS will push you to your limits and expose your vulnerabilities. Most of us have had those days when just getting out of bed is a chore, let alone mustering up the energy to exercise. After my anxiety became infinitely worse during the pandemic and the return to pre-Covid normality had become too people-y, my boyfriend convinced me to start running.
My disability is not a tragedy and I am not a burden. I am not to be pitied and most of all I am not an inspiration just because I live with MS.
My MS and disability is just one part of who I am. It is part of my identity, just like gender, sexuality, race or religion may be part of yours. Yet society rarely sees it that way. And for a very long time I did not see it that way either.