Kent Andersson

Country: Sweden
Age: 55
Type of MS: Relapsing-remitting
Year of Diagnosis: 1997



I am 55 and have relapsing-remitting MS. I am the Treasurer of Neurologiskt Handikappades Riksförbund (NHR), the Swedish Association of Neurologically Disabled.

In high school I got a scholarship and went to the USA to study. I was strong and healthy and enjoyed athletics and downhill skiing. After obtaining my MBA I was employed at my university to teach and undertake research. At this time, my wife and I had two children. At 28 years old I went into business and worked as CEO for 13 years.

When I was teaching international business students at the university, I experienced some strange sensory symptoms in my body. Until that time I had been living with a strong body that had almost no limits. Suddenly this was no longer the case. When the next relapse confronted my eyes I was diagnosed with MS in January 1997. It was really hard to learn how to live with all the different MS symptoms that occurred every now and then, disturbing my daily life. After being hospitalised for a short time in 1998, for a terrible long-term dizziness and frequent vomiting, things have improved.

Today my biggest complaint is fatigue, but after years of customised training, I’ve learnt handle my lack of energy. I now enjoy life at a lower pace as the Treasurer of NHR. We work with about 8,000 members with MS and my work includes responsibility for our Swedish foundation supporting MS research. I am also a member of MSIF’s People with MS International Committee.


Kent with his grandchildren

I was very happy to participate in the World MS Day activities on the 27 May 2009. This first global MS day was an important launch of a yearly media event to raise awareness for the two million people worldwide living with MS and give information about the fact that MS is one of the main causes of disabilities to young adults.

The media coverage of the first World MS Day was a great success in Sweden. One of our two main TV channels, TV4 interviewed NHR’s General Secretary Stefan Käll and Louise Hoffsten, a well known Swedish celebrity with MS, on their morning show. They also did a report on MS on the prime time news which featured Tomas Olsson a well known professor at Karolinska University Hospital making comments about the need for more government spending on Tysabri treatment and NHR’s Chairman Kathleen Bengtsson-Hayward speaking about the unfairness of the regional differences in MS treatment policies. The day also gave us the opportunity to communicate the researchers’ optimism about finding an effective cure. Fundraising, support and public awareness are essential to improve the quality of life for people with MS and their families.

We have recently started a project to get more people involved in NHR, called AVSTAMP (kick-off, take-off, starting-point). I am really proud to be one of the project leaders for this successful initiative. NHR works with MS clinics for this project in which MS-nurses invite newly diagnosed people with MS and their families to take part in a short education programme. As part of the programme local health professionals provide accurate information and participants can meet a neurologist, MS nurse, physician, psychologist, occupational therapist and welfare officer. This gives the people affected by MS the opportunity to share experiences with others and learn about the local NHR activities. We have been successful in recruiting many new members with MS for NHR from this project.

When you are newly diagnosed with MS it’s easy to get a feeling of isolation and uncertainty. Often you look healthy on the outside but you have strange symptoms inside your body. It’s hard for your family and friends to understand what’s happening to you. My experience is that I felt a big relief when I first participated in meetings with other people who have MS. We could share experiences and discuss our strange symptoms. This made the MS diagnosis less strange and scary to me. I met people who had lived with MS for many years and had learned to cope with it. I can really recommend my fellow friends with MS to join a national MS society. To meet new friends and get involved with voluntary work is a lot of fun. You help yourself to cope with your decease when participate in meaningful projects to help others.

NHR

AVSTAMP

World MS Day