Chilterns MS Centre

 

As one of the charities that we are raising money for, I thought I’d share a bit more information about the Chiltern MS Centre, which my Mum attends. 

When chatting to Mum about the centre there were two things that struck me – firstly, and not unexpectedly, the sense of community there.

MS is an idiosyncratic condition, affecting everyone differently; the centre is a place to share experiences.  There are a range of services available, including a hyperbaric oxygen chamber, which enables users to breathe high pressure oxygen into your system.  This is a done as group activity and there is always friendly chatting about how people are getting on and tips about recent discoveries, such an accessible shop or a comfy make of knee support. 

Central components of that community are the team of friendly physios who have a range of expertise and are a key source of keeping those who attend the centre tapped into the fundraising and other activities taking place.

The second less obvious thing, but in many ways more important, is that it is a place where it is OK to be disabled.

Mum has had MS for around 10 years.  During this time, amongst other things, she has qualified as a psychoanalyst and like many other disabled people has a busy working life.  In fulfilling her day job, there are any number of things that Mum has to consider that her more able bodied contemporaries take for granted; getting from the car to any given appointment being both the most obvious and most time consuming.  These things cause considerable pressure, but in her determination to live her life as she chooses, these are complications which to a large extent Mum makes invisible to those around her.

At the MS centre, there is no pressure to hide the wiring.  Surrounded by others with similar constraints there is no expectation that life flows smoothly.   Being in an environment in which it’s OK to acknowledge that provides important respite.

The centre has recently moved from a portacabin to a new plot.  Of course this new more solid building brings all sorts of opportunities, but also costs with that.  Impressively, there is a hydrotherapy pool on site which is a valuable facility for those with MS and potentially for other users.   As a psychoanalyst, Mum is working with counsellors to make use of the new space to set up some counselling, for both patients and carers.  Using trainee councils, once up and running this should be a cost neutral service, but like other elements it requires investment.