Yvette O'Dowd was 32 years old when she first showed symptoms of multiple sclerosis. She has now been living with MS for 30 years.
In 1995, her three children were aged 11, 7 and 4.
For several years, Yvette worked as an MS peer support volunteer, offering telephone support and leading a local MS group.
Today, Yvette is a proud grandmother of three — aged 12, 8 and 4. Explaining Multiple Sclerosis to a second generation, Yvette wanted to create a resource for other families based on her experience.
“Today on MS Understood we chat with Yvette who was diagnosed with MS over 25 years ago. We chat a lot about how things have changed in terms of medications and support since then. We talk about what things are really important in life, and how Yvette talked to her kids and now her grand kids about living with MS. We talked about the NDIS and why we deserve the financial support. I found this chat super beneficial as someone who is relatively newly diagnosed, and how things may look into the future of me having MS. And I really hope you do too.”