Analia Pierini

Country: Italy (born in Argentina)
Year of diagnosis: 1997
Type of MS: Relapsing remitting
Profession: Trading room assistant



In 1997 I was working in Milan as an assistant director in film, when suddenly I could not see out of my left eye.

At this time I was really stressed. My doctor prescribed steroids for the problem, but then I had strange sensations in my leg - like it was asleep, so I had to go hospital. In the next three months I had an MRI test and was diagnosed with MS! I had recently seen the film "Go now," in which a character with MS ends up in a wheelchair so I thought I would soon be in a wheelchair!

It was really hard being so far away from my family in Argentina at this time of extreme change. I was unable to work for a year after my diagnosis, but I was fortunate to have the help of a boyfriend and financial support from my family. My mother found it difficult being in a different country and attended support groups of the MS Society of Argentina to obtain more information.

I registered with the Italian government’s disabled people register, at the Ufficio di Collocamento, employment office. Companies in Italy are required by law to employ people from this register. If you are on this register your work contract is protected. If have a high percentage of disability you are entitled to three days, or hour equivalent, days off work per month, so you can have rehabilitation e.g. physiotherapy. Through this system I got a part time job answering the phone in a clothes designer’s show room. I did this job for three years.

Every six months I would have an MS relapse where the strange sensation would return in my leg and had to go to hospital to have steroid treatment. In 1999 I become incontinent. But I was really lucky because the Italian health service covered the cost of an operation to give me a pace maker to regulate my bladder function. This job and operation gave me my confidence back. I was able to live again!

I went on to work as public relations assistant. But I did not feel supported, I was treated the same as all other employees, so I left! In 2003 I started working for Unicredit, first as a receptionist and later as a trading room assistant. My new employer has been more understanding of my MS and my colleagues have also been supportive.

I have always loved to travel, so I decided it would be fantastic to travel the world and meet other people with MS. I was fortunate to get some funding from Bayer to help me do this. From the 12 October to 28 November 2009 I visited Russia, Thailand, China, Japan, Australia, New Zealand and the US. I am so happy that I made the trip! I experienced a lot of love from people with MS that I met and also found out about the different problems people have - I was shocked to find out how people with MS are often bed-ridden because they can’t afford a wheelchairs! I was proud to help raise more awareness about what it is like to actually live with MS on my worldwide trip, through meeting people and the media coverage generated by my visit. I plan to write a book and make a documentary about my experience.

Since I have returned from my travels my employer has started to understand more about MS, from reading the media reports about me. They generously made a donation to the Italian MS Society of €5,000. In Italy all people with MS get the costs of MS drugs covered by the government and support for transport costs is also available, but this depends on your income. I think that the situation for people with MS in Italy improving. People with MS are in the media more often, so more people will hopefully come forward and ask for help.

My advice to people with MS is do not forget your dreams and try to do them!

To read Analia’s blog and press coverage of her trip:
http://analiapierini.blogspot.com/

Italian MS Society