Emma Valentine
Emma Valentine shares some of her experience as a person living with MS with us as part of the #IaMSomeone campaign to mark World MS Day.
I was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis in September 2011, not long after going to the doctor with a collection of weird and wonderful symptoms I could no longer explain away.
“My name is Emma Valentine, and I am 36 years old. I live in Cork, in the town I grew up in, in the estate I grew up in (!) with my husband Matt and our almost-nine-year-old daughter Rowan. I spent two years as a stay-at-home parent after leaving my job in corporate America and now I work as a “rúnaí scoile” (school secretary) at the Gaelscoil my daughter attends and so am currently re-learning all the Irish I knew at school and forgot.
I was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis in September 2011, not long after going to the doctor with a collection of weird and wonderful symptoms I could no longer explain away. I knew very little about MS before experiencing it myself, but looking back, I had symptoms for a long time. Since diagnosis, I have been relatively lucky, symptom wise, my MS rarely impacts on my ability to live my ordinary, normal, chaotic yet boring life!
When not at school, I clean my house, walk our doggy Mylo, and ferry Rowan to all of her after-school activities. In my “free” free time, I like to sit around my kitchen table with all my friends, drinking wine and gossiping. I firmly believe it is good for the soul. Life is busy and can be stressful, and of course MS doesn’t help, but I am living a full life in spite of it, long may that continue!” – Emma Valentine
#IaMSomeone