MS & Me

I hate seeing documentaries or movies about tornadoes; they absolutely terrify me. There’s a recurring nightmare I have of being caught in a barren landscape at dusk, howling tornadoes circling the scene. Terror takes over with the thought of what is to come. I don’t have to delve very deep to know it is my fear of MS. MS progression to put my finger on it, lurking in the shadows of my mind, surfacing every now and then at night. It is always at night that our fears naturally become magnified but I also have many happy dreams where I am a young, physically strong 25-year-old again, totally MS-free for that short time while dreaming. When I wake up I feel quite cheated to find I’m 43, with MS! Our bodies never forget what was normal was, pre-MS, all those years ago. Our new “normal” states never feel quite right, and the dissonance of symptoms causes a sense of disquiet within us. 

This week Aoife shares her decision to disclose her MS journey to family, friends and the wider community.

To say that 'MS doesn't stop me', I'm lying, or at the very least, exaggerating. To be more accurate, I can say, unequivocally, that I do my very, very best to not let it get in the way. Lucina

This week Declan Groeger challenges perceptions and examines our idea of independence. Desire to be free is a driving force for innovation and personal revolution. 

This week, Joan tells us how she has become stronger than MS'

In our lifetime the world has indeed become a smaller place. Odd then, that our joint experience with this disease is so varied… 

Bucket lists… things-to-do-before-I-retire… Many of us all have some sort of ‘list’ in our minds of things we want to achieve in life. This week Willeke lets us in on her list, how she uses it and the importance of having goals in her life. 

This week Niamh looks at the adjustments she has made to improve her general well-being.

This week Emma Rogan takes a look at research, how things have changed in the Multiple Sclerosis Community, what the successes have been and what areas remain relatively unexamined.   

This week Declan Groeger juxtaposes two very different topics, MS and Irish history, to give a unique perspective. It is who walks alongside us that can transform loss to victory.