Did you catch this morning's edition of Ireland AM on TV3? If not don't worry, you can catch up now.
Joe McCaul (26) was on the show alongside our very own South Dublin and Kildare Regional Coordinator Roseanna Duke. The pair spoke with Mark Cagney and Sinéad Desmond about how he is dealing with his MS diagnosis.
In Joe’s most candid interview yet he admitted to feeling desperately low when he heard the news. This was partially due to the common misconception that MS is synonymous with severe disability and mobility issues.
"It was horrible, I just broke down. I did not know what to do, what to think, what to feel. My emotions were running wild. Roseanna works a lot with MS so she can verify this but I was just in such a hole at the time that nothing felt like it was going to get me out; I was so depressed.”
Roseanna explained, "Everybody reacts in a different way - they're shocked, upset and they're worried about the future and as Joe says, he imagined the worst case scenario. The majority of people who are diagnosed with MS live a full life once they settle into treatment. MS Ireland is there to support people with MS all the way through."
Following a relapse over New Year's a then 25 year old Joe decided that he wasn't going to give up, "I thought no, this isn't going to happen to me. I'm not letting it. So I started a diary and it’s brilliant, I put everything into it. How I am really feeling inside and how I, at times, didn't really want to live."
Roseanna explained, "We have 10 regional offices around the country, with Community Workers in each. We would go and see people at the initial stage of a diagnosis and we identify what supports they need - as I say, everybody's case is different, everybody responds to the news in a different way."
"MS Ireland also offers psychological support - we run yoga and mindfulness courses because, as you can imagine, people are upset and frightened and you need to look after your emotional health as well as physical."
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