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Yesterday I went to a MS Conference at Telstra Stadium at Homebush.
The conference was called - Learning to live well with MS. This conference was aimed at people living with MS and not requiring assistance or very minimal.
It started at 9.30 with registration and finished at 3.15pm. The conference was free and you could take one other person with you due to limited places (300). Morning tea and lunch were provided.
Learning to live well with MS - Conference
Apparently these conferences have been going on in Melbourne for awhile now.
I was really pleased with the venue, there were lifts and escalators. It was a fair walk from the car park (that’s in MS metres) however it is flat. You could have been dropped off about 15 metres from the doors and if someone was driving you, they could go park and catch up with you.
There were two carers from Homecare available to assist anyone who required assistance.
The focus was on mind, body and spirit.
The first speaker was Dr Robert Newton an exercise physiologist. He was, in my opinion an excellent public speaker.
Dr Newton started of by saying he was not an expert in MS however he was an expert in exercise.
Being someone who recently spent 6mths in rehab and continuing my gym work n my own I didn’t really think I could learn much more. Of course I was wrong.
I learnt something about resistance training and I will now adapt what I do at the gym.
Dr Newton explained to everyone that whilst we have MS and we tend to focus on this dis-ease process we can’t ignore the fact like everybody else there are other dis-ease processes going on in our bodies.
Put simply, he said wouldn’t it be a shame if there was a cure tomorrow for MS and we suffered a heart attack next week or developed type 2 diabetes.
What he said made sense.
Whilst I don’t focus on my dis-ease, I try to eat right and get as much exercise as possible my body will allow on any given day.
We heard from Elizabeth Stanton, Clinical Psychologist. Again I thought Elizabeth was and excellent speaker. I have already heard most of what Elizabeth talked about regarding depression and how to try to recognise the symptoms and to ask people for help.
Elizabeth explained the changes to Medicare and the rebate which is now possible for psychological treatment. I already new about this as my GP had talked to me about this however I am sure for many people this was new.
This was a little depressing in itself however Elizabeth kept her talk short and to the point.
There was also a bit from a physiotherapist don’t know that I really got a great deal from this however I was probably starting to fatigue.
Every speaker did emphasize that you have to listen to your body.
As we all know some days we can do more exercise than others, it’s within ours selves we have to learn to accept that our goal expectations change on a daily basis and accept that this is perfectly ok.
I know some have had bad experiences from the MS Society however it would be worthwhile registering with them so that you do receive notification of these things as there will be more in the future.
For those who do live with assistance there is a conference on Friday 26 October 2007.
The conference was done in Melbourne on Friday and was recorded and will be available through the library and I think they also said online. Had a quick look myself this morning but can’t see it.
I hope this information helps some of you.
Thanks to Joanne for this article!
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Conference 
