Alan's story

“I found that no matter what condition the other participants had, they all experienced the same feelings and emotions as I had.”

Alan
Bournemouth

Having been very active before I was diagnosed with primary progressive multiple sclerosis (MS) in 1991, I was finding life increasingly difficult to cope with. I still held a responsible position within my company, but had to slowly reduce my hours to compensate for an amazing lack of energy and increasing mobility problems.

I felt this was just another aspect of my life that MS was robbing me of – I had already given up many pastimes and hobbies that I had previously enjoyed. I seemed to be losing control over decisions which would ultimately affect the rest of my life. Apart from my wonderful wife and family there seemed to be little point in struggling on. Feelings of depression were becoming the ‘norm’.

My wife and I then saw an advert for the Expert Patients Programme (EPP) in the local newspaper and after some gentle persuasion my wife convinced me to enrol.

I had no idea what to expect when I attended the first session with 14 - 15 other people. I soon discovered that all the other participants, including the tutors had a chronic condition and this was very important to me.

I found that no matter what condition the other participants had, they had all experienced the same feelings and emotions as me. This meant that at last I could talk to people that really knew how I felt.

Because of this we quickly formed a bond and spurred each other on with a new outlook on life. We learnt that small changes to our lifestyles meant there could be life after diagnosis and with positive constructive thinking we would be able to cope better. The bond remains with many of the participants still in contact and providing support for each other when needed.

After the course I looked at life differently – positively!

Because I felt the course was so beneficial, I became a tutor. With each course that I am involved in as a volunteer tutor, I see positive changes in many of the participants. This is very satisfying and makes it all worthwhile.

I have recently been trained by the EPP CIC as an assessor.