Julia's Story
Julia was diagnosed with MS by her consultant in January 2015. When she was first diagnosed, she didn’t know where to go or who to ask for information; she was very frightened about the future.
Then she discovered The Rainbow Centre. Julia says, “I was so lucky that a friend recommended The Rainbow Centre to me when I was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis. I have attended the MS sessions for over a year. I don’t know how I would of coped without the support from the fantastic staff and other clients in my MS group.”
Julia’s main goals when she started attending The Rainbow Centre were:
- to socialise with other people with MS;
- to increase the strength in her right hand/arm; and
- to improve the quality of her walking.
Her husband hoped that Conductive Education sessions would allow Julia to maintain or improve her abilities and improve her confidence.
Julia has noticed a huge improvement in her use of her arms and hands and fine motor skills. Her writing was poor when she started attending sessions because she lacked strength and co-ordination. She has been doing her hand exercises religiously at home and really feels the benefit of it. Her writing is now legible and clear, and writing a shopping list no longer causes her a problem.
When she started attending The Rainbow Centre, Julia was very unsteady and wobbly on her feet and was off balance and stumbled a lot even if she did not fall, as a result she lacked confidence. She is now a lot steadier on her feet, and she can walk up and down stairs with confidence. Having learned techniques to get up from the floor, Julia is no longer afraid of falling, which means she is less likely to fall.
Julia’s big aim is to walk without her stick at her son’s wedding. This goal now seems possible and she is well on the way towards achieving it, whereas it would have felt absolutely impossible a year ago before she started coming to The Rainbow Centre.
The MS nurse was very happy with Julia’s attitude at her annual check-up and found that her cognitive skills have improved.
From being a worrier and anxious about the future, Julia has changed to being positive and enjoying her life. She is able to have her grandchildren over after school several days a week; she socialises a great deal more and enjoys life. She says, “Without coming to the Centre I would have lost all my confidence.”
