Roberta Amadeo

Age: 38
Country: Italy
Occupation: Architect
Year of diagnosis: 1992
Type of MS: Secondary progressive

A world free from MS is not utopia

My name is Roberta Amadeo. I am 38-year-old architect working for a little company in Como and I also give classes in computer science. I am currently Chairwoman of the L'Associazione Italiana Sclerosi Multipla’s (AISM) National Board.

Even from a distance my life has been anything but simple. Abandoned at birth, I lived with an elderly woman until I was five. During my early childhood I had to cope with other children’s teasing and I developed the idea of my parents being away but returning for me sooner or later. I spent hours sitting in front of the window waiting for them. Finally, my adoptive parents came and chose me as they had chosen my sister: she is two years older than me and had long been asking for a sister.

Sport soon became my passion: I was a national Judo champion and loved going out on my racing bike. Then, all of a sudden, in 1992, MS appeared in my life and I lost the use of my legs. For a long time there was one question on my mind, "Why am I in such a devastating situation at only 22 years old?"

On leaving the hospital, I realised that beginning a new kind of life was not going to be easy. With a choice between living and surviving I chose to live. "Come on, let’s start again", I said to myself and I found the strength to continue my studies at University and to reach my original goal: to be an architect. It was not easy, therefore attaining it was a significant moment in my life.

I found a lot of strength at the MS Centre of Sant' Anna Hospital in Como, where I was supported in my choices regarding therapy and assistance. The doctors and nurses never tried to hide anything from me and involved me in every decision, such as self-catheterisation. Day by day I became more independent. In 1998 I had the intrathecal baclofen pump (IBT) installed to treat spasticity, again at my request; the ITB resolved a lot of problems for me.


Also AISM was of great help, I not only had concrete support (technical aids), but also emotional and psychological support from the volunteers I met. I became a member of AISM in 1993, and since 1999, I have been a member of the Provincial Council of the Como Branch.



I was elected onto the AISM National Council in 2004 and I have run the Young People with MS Group of the Como Branch for the past four years. The Group meets to share experiences, work on new projects (such as the establishment of a photography group), and organise different cultural and leisure activities. Our underlying message is that MS has not changed our attitude towards life; rather it has only changed our view. The Group has worked diligently in developing a series of initiatives, such as the organisation and management of mutual self-help groups and the creation of an operational committee open to people with or without MS.

Through the Group I have made new friends but I also love to travel and stay with old friends, true friends who have remained close after my diagnosis. A few years ago my love of travel took me to the United States, where I led a group visit to Monument Valley, Arizona. I clearly remember the pleasure of arriving at the cliffs of the Valley in my wheelchair.