Last weekend, Susan Simmons completed a long-distance swim the length of Lake Cowichan. A notable achievement in its own right, it is more notable due to the fact that Susan is managing her life, her job and her training while coping with the symptoms of multiple sclerosis.
The previous week, the MS Warriors competed in the Victoria Dragonboat Festival. This is a much-loved team that has earned the respect of all the dragon-boat community in Victoria.
There is one factor that these athletes have in common, and that is the MS Centre on North Park Avenue. Thanks to the uniquely equipped gym and other psycho-social training opportunities, these athletes and other Victorians living with MS have been able to mitigate the worst of the symptoms, receive support from staff and peers and, most notably, receive personalized physiotherapy interventions.
Thanks to an unfortunate decision by the board of directors of the MS Society of Canada, all of this is now at risk. The board has decided to change its focus from direct services to research. They are divesting themselves of all real estate in favour of renting space, likely in scattered locations in Victoria.
The centre is a busy, well-used space that is meeting the needs of its members. Ironically, if the society wishes to focus on research, I suggest they do participatory research on the athletes and others who are enjoying an enhanced quality of life due to the services that are available to them.
Pieta VanDyke
Victoria
