BYKATE HEANEY
THE empty promises made on services for MS sufferers in the North West four years ago means there is still no Neurologist appointed north of Galway or Dublin.
The lack of services for those with MS in Ireland as a whole was highlighted at a conference in Brussels this week, where the ratio of Neurologists to MS patients here is the worst in the developed world.
On a personal level Kilmacrennan woman Pauline Larkin knows how that lack of specialists impacts on her life having coped with MS for the past 22 years.
Pauline is one of more than 450 MS sufferers in the North West, with Donegal having the highest incidence of the condition in the country. Yet when Pauline needs to visit her Neurologist she has to endure a 16 hour round trip to Dublin for a 15 minute appointment.
She would normally see her neurologist once a year. However recently she sensed a change in her condition and sought a further appointment and was told it would be at least four months before she could get an appointment.
"It is dreadful. We were promised at a conference in 2003 that we would be getting a Neurology service in Donegal within three months and we are still waiting. I am told to avoid stress and over exertion yet the round trip to Dublin for the 15 minute appointment just leaves me exhausted for more than a week. There should be facilities in place to allow patients to receive treatment closer to home - even if it was a visiting service," Pauline explained.
EUROPEAN COMPARISONS
The Brussels conference this week heard how Ireland had only 16 competent neurologists, five neurological units and two rehabilitation centres to cater for 10,000 MS sufferers. The inadequacies of services here is highlighted by the ratio of neurologists too patients in other countries. Finland has 40 neurological units for 7,000 MS sufferers while Sweden has 400 for 14,000 patients.
Frank Larkin, Pauline's husband, who has Spina Bifida and is confined to a wheelchair, is angry at the failure of government to provide these essential services in the region.
" I have worked with the MS Society in the area and there is no service for people with MS above Dublin or Galway. Inishowen has one of the highest incidences of MS and even if they were able to travel to Sligo for treatment, it is still a very long round trip.
"Neurologists are needed, not just for people with MS but people with Motor Neurone disease, Parkinson's and other neurological disorders need these services too," he added.
It is twenty years since Pauline first felt that there was something wrong - a tingling sensation in her finger tips - which she likened to the feeling you get when you sit on your hands. She uses drugs to relieve specific symptoms but, thankfully, remains active and can cope with daily needs.
Multiple Sclerosis is a disease which affects the brain and the central nervous system. It causes many symptoms and they affect different people in different ways. Some people see double or have blurred vision. Some become weak and exhausted, others have speech difficulties like slurring of words. Some have numbness, partial or complete paralysis of any part of the body. Others have shaking hands, loss of bladder or bowel control or staggering and loss of balance.
Because the cause of MS is not known, experts are unable to predict who will get it. Instead, they can say who is more likely to get it. More women than men have developed MS. It is not connected with pregnancy and women with MS can become pregnant. It is not hereditary and people between the age of 15 and 40 are more likely to get MS than others.
The variety of symptoms makes it difficult for the individual to know that there is something wrong. A short period of acute symptoms may be followed by months or even years without any further effects.
There is no cure for MS. With good care, it can be managed. A good diet and adequate rest are helpful. Physiotherapy can help to relieve muscle tightening. Drugs can be used to relieve specific symptoms while individual counselling and group therapy can help the person and their families to live and manage MS.
The life span for most people with MS is near normal. Remission is the rule. Nine out of every ten people with MS have few or no symptoms for months or years. Three out of every four remain active and can cope with daily needs.
The local Multiple Sclerosis of Ireland Information Centre is located at Rossview Business Park, Port Road, Letterkenny and their telephone number is 9125017.
