Multiple Sclerosis The Hidden Disease

It seems that those who are affected by Multiple Sclerosis might as well be invisible when one considers how little is done for them and how little progress has been made over the last twenty to thirty years, to develop viable treatments for this debilitating condition.

My wife was diagnosed as having MS in 1991, however, she did experience symptoms similar to those associated with MS about fourteen years earlier but the specialist at that time came to the conclusion that she did not have MS. No reasons were given, but fortunately she had no further problems until 1991, when she was diagnosed after temporary loss of vision in one eye. Although she is not wheelchair dependent, she has the difficulty in getting about and requires help with most things around the house.

From the time she was diagnosed, my wife has only been seen by a neurologist four or five times. Furthermore, she has not had any treatment from the NHS, apart from two courses of intravenous steroids, of which, only the first was effective. Because MS is an ongoing condition, even physiotherapy is not available, at least in the area we live.

My wife and I are fortunate that we can, in the short term, self fund Aimspro, which is making a noticeable difference in my wife’s case, but why should we be forced to self fund? Like most those, I have paid taxes and National Insurance.

Unlike Cancer Research, how often do we hear appeals to raise funds specifically for research into understanding and finding viable treatments for Multiple Sclerosis? NEVER! Multiple Sclerosis is clearly seen as a low priority condition but somehow this has to change.

Although there seems, at this moment in time, to be several potential treatments at various stages of research, I believe until a much greater effort is made in understanding the condition, it could be a long time before treatments are widely available to all in need. Therefore, I feel it is important to stimulate somehow interest in Multiple Sclerosis and raise the necessary funding to finance meaningful research.

While those affected by MS remain invisible and silent, they will continue to be considered a low priority in the overall scheme with respect to the National Health Budget. However, a way has to be found to raise awareness of the desperate needs of those affected by MS so that they are no longer INVISIBLE but deserving those who are entitled to their share of NHS services.

Gordon Ellis, Glasgow