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This week we thought we’d take a different look at Life with MS. The MS and Me bloggers are in touch with each other a lot. We share updates on how our MS is faring and ask questions about treatments and symptoms. It is fair to say however, that a significant percentage of our WhatsApp messages involve pictures and stories about the furrier members of our families.

Anyone who has a pet will understand the joy they bring, but a quick poll of our bloggers suggests that having a dog or cat is beneficial to our well-being and how we live well with MS. Our pets are our companions, confidantes and always agree with us! This week Ciara, Rosie and Niamh share their pet stories.

It’s not uncommon to think of Multiple Sclerosis as only a physical condition. That’s all one can see (unless looking at an MRI)- symptoms from the damage it causes to the nerves resulting in problems walking, balance, muscle weakness or vision loss.

‘The Societal Cost of Multiple Sclerosis in Ireland’ was initially conducted in 2015. As much has changed in recent years, we are looking to gain an insight into the current ‘Societal Cost of MS in Ireland’ to identify and compare any differences in your lives. Please complete the survey at the following link it should take 20 minutes.

To say my children are my life is an understatement; they mean the world to me and when I first received my MS diagnosis my thoughts turned to them immediately. They were 6 and 4 and a half at the time and they had boundless energy.  I worried that I wasn’t going to be able to keep up with them and that maybe I wouldn’t be able to look after them the way I wanted to. My mind immediately began to come up with worst case scenarios and I remember crying myself to sleep that night thinking about all they were going to miss out on because of me. My guilt was immense. In my shock and upset at the diagnosis I had catastrophised everything and it took me some time to realise that our world had not ended, it had simply changed.

The Neurological Alliance of Ireland is the umbrella organisation for neurology patient organisations in Ireland. MS Ireland as members of this organisation have been supporting the Patients Deserve Better Campaign which aims to highlight the lack of neurology nurses across the country. Ireland requires further 100 neurology nurses in order to address unacceptable waiting periods, delays with diagnosis and treatment. Neurology nurses, including MS nurses play a crucial role in the care of people living with neurological conditions.

Orna Brown was diagnosed with MS a little over a year ago, during the pandemic. After visiting our website and social media channels, Orna discovered our online services and signed up to the Move Smart programme . Below she outlines her experience being diagnosed, and how the Move Smart programme has helped her.

Grief is the one thing in life we are all guaranteed to experience at some stage of life. When you lose a loved one, a pet or experience any loss you will experience grief. And for those of us who live with a chronic illness/disability, we face grief on a regular basis.