MS Ireland
Informing, Supporting and Caring for the MS Community
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A huge thank you to all the ladies who joined Team MS Ireland and who made the day so much fun and so successful.
If you took part in this year's event could you please return your sponsorship cards as well as any funds raised to Fundraising, MS Ireland, 80 Northumberland Rd, Dublin 4.
Finally, remember to join Team MS Ireland again next year. We will keep you posted on how to sign up for 2019 on our website and social media channels, watch this space!!
This week Robert Joyce discusses the good days and the bad days. Chronic illness invades every part of our lives and it can be so easy to fall into a trap of grieving for what used to be. Snowflake. I never thought that I would class myself as part of this new category. It is a term that is used to describe the new generation, signifying that everyone is different. Unique. Special. Beautiful. Multiple Sclerosis has so many variations of how it affects the people that have it; MS can definitely be called a snowflake disease. In the last four years, my health has changed. My Multiple Sclerosis raised its head, announcing its return by adding extra weight to my right leg and placing gloves on my hands that contain thousands of pins and needles. It woke up because of a minor car accident that shook this beast from its slumber. Accompanied by a headache that since then has never abated. Chronic illness can and does, invade every part of your life. Work suffers, testing your relations with loved ones and your mental state can transform from happy to maudlin in an instant. Your mind brings up memories of days when you could walk for hours, or become immersed in learning something new. Now, these are not possible. Living with longing for the past only leads to despair. I have travelled this journey and understand how easy it is to fall into this cauldron of lost abilities. My toe has been scalded many times as I started to slide into this boiling broth. Now I know how this feels and have found a way of lifting myself away from this bubbling pot. I’ve placed my damaged body back on a path with the sun warming my back by focusing on my abilities, on the friendships made while walking this road. Focusing on the opportunities that I have, the abilities that I learned, and newfound friendships, has created vital, renewing times for me. Lost mobility has put me in front of my laptop and now I write. Seeing that the creativity that I need to feel fulfilled can be met by using these keys, I now share my stories to an audience that spans the world. Singapore, Peru, USA and even Cork are all places that my words have been read. My eyes once again sparkle with excitement as I wonder what new post I shall write. I share my story with the world and I know it is listening. In this uncertain future that I have as a result of my medical condition, I know that those dark, cauldron days will return. However, those days are a stark contrast to the days filled with happiness and gratitude for the new abilities that I have learned. I am secure in my belief that "the dark days make the bright days brighter". Discover more from Robert Joyce on https://a30minutelife.com/
and the lucky winners are... The draw for our Annual Summer Raffle took place on Friday, 6th July 2018 at our National Office. Women’s Rugby International Nora Stapleton joined us for the draw on the day, alongside our lovely Fundraising Executive Sally Spearman We are delighted to announce this year’s winners: 1st Prize – Raymond McCarthy, Limerick 2nd Prize – Teckie Brett, Tipperary 3rd Prize – Jane O’Halloran, Dublin. Congratulations to all our winners and a huge THANK YOU to everyone who supported this year’s Summer Raffle. The funds raised will make a huge difference to services in our Care Centre.
This week Helen Farrell talks delicious, nutritious food and current food trends. Read on for her take on MS, gluten and the adjustments she (and her family) have to make so she stays healthy and well. “Gluten! Such a poison” said the man at the café till. “How”? In what way” I asked, curious to know his reasoning. “You know, it’s really bad for you, causes so many problems in the body” he said. “Yeah”, I said vaguely, glancing at my gluten-free chocolate muffin loaded with sugar and oil. He looked like he worked out, Instagrammed and used sunbeds. I don’t. It made me think a bit about the whole gluten-free (GF) trend. Seems like there are lots of people following the GF diet without truly knowing why; such a lot of hassle when you don’t medically need to. If you ask people their reasons for going GF, some say they feel better without gluten, some MSers think their MS will be alleviated, but the bottom line for many is because they think it’s bad or they’ll lose weight by going GF. As a person with Coeliac disease I can assure you that a GF diet can be very unhealthy if you only live on GF chocolate, crisps and pizza. A normal diet can include plenty of gluten and still be very healthy. It was a shock when my husband mentioned that dealing with my Coeliac disease was more hassle than MS. He wasn’t being unkind. In terms of impact on things, he was more aware of Coeliac disease. When we want to stay somewhere, join with family for a meal, for shopping, to even prepare our food and avoid cross-contamination in the kitchen (a crumb will cause immune-damage to a true Coeliac), it’s more present for him. But then I realised that it’s not just him that feels that. Most people make more of an allowance for my Coeliac disease than my MS, which is mostly invisible. MS is horribly, constantly present to me, but like an iceberg, the bulk of it unseen by most (but maybe I’m glad it is). MS feels like a relentless Terminator robot, coming for me without cease, trying to annihilate me. Even when I try to escape, it melts down and comes at me afresh. Coeliac disease is merely an irritation. In fact, it seems like the perfect disease; it’s easily fixed – just avoid gluten. Now if MS were the same, I’d be a happy woman. There is no diet that is proven to alter the course of MS, at this time. Some people favour the Swank diet, Paleo, Vegan, or “Best Bet” but with no definitive proof of any specific diet helping people with MS, I’m going to keep enjoying my food as it is. Food is such a pleasure! If we follow general dietary principles for good health, it will help us live well with MS. Perhaps my Nana was right when she said “a little bit of what you like, does you good” but in my case, not gluten. Coeliac Society of Ireland: signs and symptoms Diet and MS, Pavan Bhargava MD, National Multiple Sclerosis Society (US)
Calendar images wanted... MS Ireland is creating a 2019 calendar and is asking photographers to submit their work for consideration. We’re looking for images based on the theme “As Time Goes By”. The passing of time can be recorded by photography in many ways. A long exposure can be used to capture the effect of time on an image, whereas a short exposure is used to capture an instant in time. The theme of this competition is very open and broad with a lot of scope for creativity. We look forward to seeing your interpretation. Read Terms and Conditions 13 images will be selected in total, 12 to appear within the calendar and one will be chosen for the cover. In addition to the calendar winning entrants will see their image in the following places: In our MSnews magazine which goes to 5000 members, clinics and health professionals around the country In a special edition of our electronic newsletter 'eNews' Throughout our social media profiles – Facebook, Twitter and Instagram So get snapping and enter our competition today! ***Closing date for entries: 5pm on Friday August 10th 2018*** Get in touch For more information contact Sally Spearman: email calendars@ms-society.ie
MS Ireland publish Pre-Budget Submission for 2019 Our key asks are: Investment of €3 million in neurology services Investment of €4.5 million in neurorehabilitation services Investment of €11 million in community services for people with disabilities – including Personal Assistants and Home Support/Home Help €13.75 million increase for the Housing Adaptation Grant scheme Automatic entitlement to a GP Visit Card for those in receipt of the Long Term Illness Scheme Raise the level of the Medical Card earnings disregard for people on Disability Allowance or on Partial Capacity Benefit associated with Invalidity Pension as per the recommendations in the 2017 ‘Make Work Pay’ report Ring-fence savings from the 2016 IPHA Agreement for spending on access to new and innovative medications Read our Pre-Budget Submission here This submission has been prepared by Harriet Doig, Information, Advocacy and Research Officer. Questions and comments can be directed to harrietd@ms-society.ie
Calling all budding photographers! Enter our competition to see YOUR photo in our new calendar!
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19 July 2018: Yoga classes to help improve health and wellbeing. Ongoing throughout 2018
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