I was diagnosed with MS in August 2005 at the age of 51.

At the time I was working as a full time diagnostic radiographer for the Department of Health.

Up until that time I had lived a perfectly normal life, happily married with two children, ages 26 and 19.

Being a Christian at the time of my diagnosis, with God's help, I was able to accept with grace, the reality of a diagnosis of a chronic illness.

It enabled me to reflect with thankfulness the good life I was afforded as a working mother and wife.

After much reflection, I made the decision to end my working career of 35 years in November 2006.

I loved my profession and due to the nature of my clinical work and in the best interest of my quality of life, it was by far the best decision at that time of my life.

I realised that acceptance was of primary importance for my personal and emotional well being and today 9 years later I stand in awe and wonder of God's goodness, grace, and mercy.

At the time of diagnosis I presented with weakness in my left leg and thankfully, this has not deteriorated but typically associated with MS, I can not cover long distance walking without fatigue.

Obviously MS slows one down but living with MS has not particularly changed me as a person and I have adjusted to life by "living to the beat of my own drum."

Adapting to change is a gradual process and I have learnt to “tap into the frequency that matters" and in so doing I am fulfilled and content with life.

I celebrated my 60th birthday this year!

With both our children married, we have downscaled from our big family home of 30 years to a smaller cottage, hopefully our retirement home, requiring less maintenance.

We live 1 km from the beach and I acquired a little scooter about a year ago which I use for "walks on the beach" as well as visits to big shopping malls.

I am blessed with a loving, supportive husband and together we are looking forward to becoming grandparents to our first grandchild soon.

MS is a mysterious illness, variable in its nature and different for everyone living with it.

As individuals we need to embrace it and the knowledge that we are not alone and that we can share our stories with each other is helpful because we can certainly draw strength and encouragement from it.

To all people living with MS, enjoy the present, it’s God's gift to us.

God bless

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An Update to my Story in 2020

Following up on my MS story which I recorded 6 years ago (at age 60)

I am currently 66 years of age and have been living with MS since 2005(15years)

I started with the disease modifying drug, Betaferon ten months after my official diagnosis. (7 June 2006) to date.

I see my neurologist routinely once a year for a general consultation and continuous motivation of Betaferon.

My last hospitalisation was in 2011 and to date I have been in reasonably good health with no deterioration as such.

As we know MS is variable in its nature and different for everyone.

We have been blessed with two grandchildren, Matthew (age 5) and Charlie-Rose (age 2 years and 7 months) they are the delight and joy of our lives.

We continue to enjoy retirement living in West Beach, Blouberg and I simply stand in awe and wonder of God's goodness, grace, and mercy.

I continue to pace myself, I plan everything, in so doing I manage my fatigue and tapping into the frequency that matters brings order and meaning.

It is indeed therapeutic to know we are not alone in our challenges and sharing our stories is extremely helpful because we can certainly draw strength and encouragement from it.

As a country, we together with the rest of world are navigating this devastating Pandemic, Covid19. I urge you all to take care, remain vigilant and stay safe.

Enjoy the present, its God's gift to us.

God bless