Martin Stow - MS Ambassador
Marilyn introduced our guest tonight Mr Martin Stow whom is a MS Ambassador, Rotarian with Geelong Central Breakfast Club and a MS patient. Martin spent many years working as a “Bobbie” (Policeman) in England before coming to Australia but over the last few years has been busy with Presentations and his own on line Training Business.
MS- Australia
“Accept it, deal with it and get on with it”
MS- Australia
“Accept it, deal with it and get on with it”
This is how this is how stoic Martin dealt with his diagnosis of Multiple Sclerosis (MS), which is the fastest growing neurological disease affecting young Australians.
MS challenges this busy man’s mobility and energy levels, but business does not stop. Now, with intelligent and accommodating management, his business works with him not against him.
MS Australia the peak body supporting people living with MS provides Martin with numerous resources and information on how best to achieve full and healthy lifestyle as possible, while managing symptoms-putting him in the driver’s seat to continue on as effectively as possible in his journey with MS.
Martin was diagnosed at 56 years of age but felt the symptoms may have appeared much earlier. Martin went on to describe his journey with MS thus far and his amazing partner and left us with a great saying- “Identify a cause- Effect a Cure”
Please see a small summary of what MS is from
http://www.nationalmssociety.org/chapters/mnm/mediacenter/factsheetmultiplesclerosis/index.aspx
What is multiple sclerosis? Multiple sclerosis is an unpredictable, often disabling disease of the central nervous system that interrupts the flow of information within the brain and between the brain and the body and stops people from moving. Symptoms range from numbness and tingling to blindness and paralysis. The progress, severity and specific symptoms of MS in any one person cannot yet be predicted, but advances in research and treatment are moving us closer to a world free of MS.
Who gets MS?
Most people with MS are diagnosed between the ages of 20 and 50, although people as young as two and as old as 75 have developed it. At least two to three times as many women as men are diagnosed with the disease, and there are an estimated 8-10,000 children under the age of 18 who live with MS.
MS occurs in most ethnic groups but more commonly among Caucasians of northern European ancestry. In all parts of the world, MS is more frequently observed at northern latitudes farther from the equator and less frequently observed in areas closer to the equator.
How many people have MS?
An estimated 2.3 million people worldwide have MS. What are the symptoms of MS? Symptoms of MS vary greatly from person to person and from time to time in the same person. For instance, one person with MS may experience abnormal fatigue and another person may have severe vision problems. While one person with MS may have loss of balance, muscle coordination or tremors — making walking and everyday tasks difficult to perform — another person may have slurred speech and memory issues.
These problems may be permanent or may come and go.
What causes these symptoms?
In MS, symptoms result when inflammation and breakdown occur in myelin, the protective insulation surrounding the nerve fibers of the central nervous system (brain and spinal cord). Myelin is destroyed and replaced by scars of hardened, "sclerotic" patches of tissue.
Some underlying nerve fibers are permanently severed, and the damage appears in multiple places within the central nervous system. Myelin is often compared to insulating material around an electrical wire; loss of Myelin interferes with the transmission of nerve signals.
Marilyn thanked Martin for his inspiring story and we look forward to seeing him
again.