Alex was a young student studying for a degree in Civil Engineering when his MS diagnosis came out of the blue. In this article, he tells us how he coped with the diagnosis by actively changing his lifestyle and finding a whole new career and passion in the process.
I've always been an active person, very outgoing, ambitious and bubbly. I was studying for a degree in Civil Engineering which had been a passion of mine, when I had my first symptoms of MS. At the time I blamed my stumbling and poor balance on tiredness, and I blamed my blurred vision on some contact lenses I’d worn as part of a Halloween costume.
When my eye issues didn’t clear up, I went to the opticians. He told me that something wasn’t quite right about the clouding on the eye lens, so referred me to the hospital for an MRI.
At first, I was misdiagnosed with a cataract, following that I had three MRI scans and a lumbar puncture when the consultant finally sat me down and asked:
How old are you? "23...", I responded. She sighed sharply and said, "I don't know how, but you have multiple sclerosis."
I gazed around the room and zoned out because I had no idea what multiple sclerosis was, but from her body language, it couldn't have been good.
From my first symptoms, through to diagnosis, it took only five or six months. After my diagnosis, I felt confused and quite distraught. I was living away from home which made me feel even more alone, plus there seemed to be very little information available on what I could do to help my situation.
It was then I started to do my own research and I realised I needed to make some much better lifestyle decisions if I wanted to improve my condition. At the time, I was still working towards my Civil Engineering degree, however, after a relapse, I had been left needing a wheelchair. I realised I had to start using the knowledge I had found and apply it to my daily routine.
I must admit at first, I procrastinated, however after a conversation with one of my peers I realised there's no better time than the present. From that moment on, I became vegan and started to engage in physiotherapy and physical activities to help improve my mobility. After six months of being in a wheelchair, I was finally able to walk again.
It didn't end there, I wanted to do more, I wanted my strength back plus more, and I wanted to surpass the barriers that the doctors had set out for me.
Fast forward a few years, I graduated in Civil Engineering but by now I felt that I wanted to help others, so I went back to studying, this time to become a personal trainer. I did this so I could maintain an active lifestyle as well as help improve other people’s physical health.
I believe that fitness and wellbeing are very important whether you have multiple sclerosis or not. If you want to maintain a certain ability level, you need to do that activity frequently.
I'm a firm believer in "if you don't use it, you lose it".
My advice would be, to start slowly and gradually ease yourself into increasing the intensity of your training. If you try and fail, you might not be motivated to try again.
I found that the key for me was to set realistic goals, and to focus on a good level of consistency with my training. This helped me maintain constant progress, and you might find it will help you too.
Personal training is very rewarding, to know you have helped with someone's weight loss or gain it's a wonderful feeling but the people who really need help are not in the gym or at fitness centres, they are probably at home or maybe in a restaurant with no idea of how to help themselves. I’ve recently formed an organisation called Confirmed Anomalies with my peers, that acts as a central hub for people affected directly or indirectly by multiple sclerosis or sickle cell. The organisation advises people on where they can seek assistance and how they can get support.
I urge everyone to try their utmost to maintain their physical and mental wellbeing, if you would like any advice or have any questions, feel free to contact me via Instagram @wok.works. You can also follow Confirmed anomalies at Twitter @ca_hq_ and Instagram @ca_hq_
