I have MS, but I am healthy and happy — I have a lot of hope for my future

Nicole Glennon chats to one woman who says MS has changed her life – for the better

Evelyn O’Keeffe: 'I know I have MS, but I still consider myself to be healthy'

When Evelyn O’Keeffe was first diagnosed with MS in 2019, she was terrified.

“My husband and I did the classic thing of going to Google... and we saw the worst of the worst,” she says.

Evelyn, who has been symptom-free for most of the three years since her diagnosis, said she initially found herself face-to-face with a neurologist after experiencing a strange numbness in her legs.

"I had a holiday booked, I was really stressed in work and I thought, ‘I do not have time to go see a doctor.’ 

“I went on my holiday and was completely fine, but a week later it had all come back and it had traveled further up my legs.

“I used to walk everywhere but when I was diagnosed, I was really struggling to walk 10 minutes down the road,” she explains.

Reduced mobility is one of the most obvious symptoms of MS — the most common debilitating neurological condition affecting young adults in Ireland.

Balance problems are also common for people with MS, as is fatigue, changes in sensation, memory and concentration problems.

Evelyn O'Keeffe

But for Evelyn, who has recently moved back to Cork, these are not symptoms she has had to live with despite her fears when she was first diagnosed.

“I know I have MS, but I still consider myself to be healthy. That might seem crazy to some people, but it's my reality.” 

“MS affects everyone in different ways. There are so many different realities of living with MS.” 

The 34-year-old, said she is “thankful every single day” that her MS does not affect her on a daily basis.

But while she considers herself lucky not to suffer from many of the physical symptoms others with the condition experience, she says it is "terrifying” to know that there are lesions on her brain and spinal cord.

This is what has inspired her painting in MS Ireland’s latest exhibition, The Art of MS – Symptoms Under the Spotlight, in partnership with Novartis Ireland which is currently on display in the Trinity Biomedical Sciences Institute in Dublin.

“When I was diagnosed, my neurologist told me there were a lot of lesions on my brain and spine and asked me did I want to see it on my MRI.

“I said no thank you,” she says with a laugh.

“With the painting... I think I was trying to imagine a better scenario, filled with colour and joy. It’s not a bleak, terrifying image.” 

Evelyn O'Keeffe's painting for World MS Day

“Looking back to 2019, I genuinely felt terrified, but if I could go back, I'd tell myself it's not all doom and gloom. There are wonderful treatments out there and there is a lot of hope."

“For me, MS has been positive because it's made me change for the better. It gave me the kick I needed to shift my focus.

“I had been so focused on work, but it made me realise my health is more important. My relationships are more important, my happiness.

“Prior to my diagnosis, I was always postponing my happiness. I used to think, I'll be happy once I get this big project finished in work, I'll be happy once X happens... it was always a case of I'm going to be happy in the future. Present me was just never happy.

“I don’t know how I will be in 10 years' time, but I am happy and I am healthy today.” 

• To mark World MS Day, MS Ireland, in partnership with Novartis Ireland, has launched The Art of MS – Symptoms Under the Spotlight exhibition featuring 12 original artworks from artists living with Multiple Sclerosis in Ireland to raise public awareness of the disease.