Head Held High - My Mum's Journey with MS, directed by William Fletcher (Australia, 2023), offers a personal look at a mother living with multiple sclerosis. The film explores perception and viewpoint around medical disability, offering a thoughtful reflection for adult audiences. Short and quietly powerful, it fits the Focus on Ability programme by showcasing abilities, experiences and achievements without sensationalism. Viewers can expect a humane and respectful piece that values dignity and perspective in the face of change. It is an intimate contribution to conversations about MS and disability in everyday life.
Alright, so can you tell us when you got diagnosed with multiple sclerosis and what was your first reaction? Well, I got diagnosed in October 2017 and I was a little bit shocked at first, but I was also relieved because I'd been going through multiple tests and doctors who just told me it was this depression, it was this, it was that, and finally when the MRI showed that it was lesions and they actually were able to say what it was, I realised, you know, finally someone believed me and there was actually something wrong. So yeah, I was relieved. So, can you tell me how maybe the label impacted you as a person, whether it was positively or negatively? Well, at first it was negatively because I had to reduce hours of work, you know, and I lost a lot of contact with some friends, especially my triathlon friends, and I could see how well they were doing on social media and that sort of, it was good in a way for them, but for me it was hard to sort of fathom that I couldn't be like that, so that was hard. But out of that, the positivity was that I made more time for me and I started to slow down and have an easier pace of things and really enjoy life as in, you know what, I'm not dead, I'm not terminal, I'm still breathing and I can still get up and I can do things and that actually helped me cope and also my family and some of the friends that I did have really sort of helped me along with the MS journey. Anything you'd like to say about people with MS who may be reluctant to take medication? Okay, so people who are reluctant to take medication, I say to those people, well if it works for you, great, you know, if you don't need medication, then don't take it. But for me, I needed it and I had more of a benefit by taking it. So the benefit outweighed the quality of life that I was having. So if you get a better outcome with medication, great, and if you don't and you feel it's not for you, then that's fine too, you know, so everyone has their own opinion on it, so yeah, that's my take on it. Just one final question, is that what would you say to the scientists or people who want to become scientists who are trying to look for a cure for MS or better treatments? What would I say? I would just say try and cure it, you know, try and reverse the damage if possible. So if people are not able to walk and you can do something that fixes them and gets their balance and their coordination and their spasticity back again, or corrected I should say, then if they can do that, that would be great. That's probably not the answer, sorry. That's a good answer. Sorry, yeah, just do the best that they can. Well thanks for sitting down and taking the time. Not a problem, thank you. Thank you.
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