Vahida Hajdarbegovic

Name: Vahida Hajdarbegovic
Country: Bosnia and Herzegovina
Occupation: Freelance teacher and translator
Age: 44
Year of Diagnosis: 1989
Type of MS: Relapsing-remitting

My name is Vahida. I am married to Fadil, a mechanical engineer, and I have two children aged 22 and 21. I live in Tuzla, in Bosnia and Herzegovina in South East Europe.

Let me tell you my story. After I gave a birth to my second child, I had a high fever and double vision, as well as spasms and numbness in my right side of the body. I woke up one morning with a dull ache in my right arm and leg. I ignored it and went to work. A month later, after a short afternoon nap, I could not move my arm at all. When I tried to stand my leg was weak and I was leaning to one side. I thought I had slept in a bad position and things would go back to normal quickly as before. That did not happen.

After medical examination I was diagnosed with MS. I didn’t know what to think. All I knew was that a couple of weeks before I had been a normal healthy woman, and now I was in a hospital bed, barely able to walk.

At first, it was really scary. My husband and I were so depressed because we didn’t know what to do. We felt so alone.

Surviving the war

Shortly afterwards, my country got engaged in the conflict that progressed to the devastating war which ended in late 1995. During that period MS was the last thing on my mind – my goal was to stay alive, protect my children and loved ones and feed my family. In 1993 I got a job as administrative specialist with the UN protection forces stationed at Tuzla Airport.

In 1995 I lost my mother, one of my greatest supporters, to cancer. This was very hard, emotionally and physically, and I started to feel my MS more and more. But I had to move on and when NATO took over from the UN, I got a job with a company that provided logistical support for the US Military. It was important for me to stay active as I really love to work, and I felt very useful being able to provide financial support for my loved ones in the hard postwar times.

Late in 2000 I lost my father, who also died from cancer. This was another shock and didn’t help my condition. Between 2000 and 2005 I had to be hospitalised several times. This period was very hard but great support from my husband Fadil, daughter Maida and son Semir kept me going.

Our MS society

Finally in 2003 I retired from professional work. This was one of the hardest decisions of my life. My bosses and colleagues gave me nothing but true support all the time but I just couldn’t give my best at work so I decided to retire. My husband’s support was again the main factor helping me to overcome hard times. Among the ideas he suggested was to meet other people with MS and try to set up a society.

In 2003, with support from the neurologist Professor Osman Sinanovic and ophthalmologist Dr Verica Vukotic, who also has MS, and with big support from my husband, we set up the Multiple Sclerosis Association of Tuzla. This was greatly needed. We now have about 250 members with MS (mostly young people) and the number is increasing. We organise public conferences at least once a year with presentations and updates about MS.

The Association is run by volunteers, who all work as hard as we can despite having MS. We have received great help and support from our Tuzla Mayor, Mr Jasmin Imamovic.

But Bosnia and Herzegovina has to cope with lots of problems after the war. The country is economically unstable, limiting the potential for the government to invest in social programmes and scientific research. Societies like ours are last on the list when it comes to support from the state. We are trying on our own but it’s very hard to find sponsors and donors. We try to stay in touch with all the other local MS Associations to improve coordination and information flow.

And me, I’m still moving forward, now very slowly but still surely.

Since 2009 I’m on medication that is being studied by a team led by Professor Sinanovic at the Tuzla Clinic of Neurology. It is not always easy but I’m giving my best. I work voluntarily as Secretary of our MS Society, trying to extend our network and help others. Currently I’m often on the phone and email, looking for sponsors to provide battery-operated wheelchairs for three of our members.

Please give me a few words to thank my family and friends for all the support given over many years and, until researchers find a cure for MS, I would like to send the message to all people affected by MS (patients and families) to continue to give or receive help, love, support and attention. Please never give up.

Visit the MS Association of Tuzla website


Visiting the German MS Society