MS Gallery − Matthias
“MS isn’t a disease quite like any other, but it’s still possible to carry on with your life. I still take part in and enjoy the same things I did before diagnosis.”
Matthias
Age: 27
Hometown: Toulouse, France
Onset of symptoms: 2002
First symptom experienced: Paralysis of the right foot
First diagnosed: 2002
Started treatment: 2003
Matthias was playing tennis when he realized he had lost feeling in his foot. “I came to realize that I couldn’t feel anything. I didn’t know what was wrong.”
During that time, Matthias suspected that he might have MS. He knew someone with the disease and understood that it was something a person can live and cope with. After four months of tests, doctors finally diagnosed him. But when Matthias heard the diagnosis, he felt “despondent, lost and worried about each symptom.”
Soon after his diagnosis, doctors told Matthias about the benefits of early treatment. “I listened to my doctors, who strongly recommended that I start treatment straight away because every day lost may impact my future. I placed my full confidence in them.”
Even so, it took a couple of years for Matthias come to terms with his disease and feel more positive about his future. He also found support from his girlfriend, Claire (now his wife), and close friends, who understood the disease.
“You’ll need plenty of courage in the first few days, weeks and months after you’re diagnosed. It isn’t a disease quite like any other, but it’s still possible to carry on with your life. I still take part in and enjoy the same things I did before diagnosis – like sports, work and my family life.” He now looks forward to the birth of his child in August 2007. “La vie est belle, life is going on.”
