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There were a few carloads of Ballarat and district PwMS who travelled down to the conference. A very early start ensured we all got there by the 8.30am registration. If there are the same numbers next year maybe we could hire a mini bus? It would make it easier for the designated drivers who had panicky passengers! I will only give a brief summary of what went on - More details when the head is not so befuddled!!
We were welcomed at 9am by Terry Winters- Chairman of the MS Society of Victoria who said the focus of the board over the next five years was to increase funding by 8-10% annually which means more research, more lifestyle services and support for families.
He then introduced Senator Meg Lees who talked about the changes to the DSP, something I think that has been worrying many people. Interesting to note that the Senator’s own daughter Teagan has MS.
Next up was Lindsay Mc Millan who introduced us to the next guest speaker Professor George Kraft. This was via a satellite link up to Seattle, USA. Professor Kraft has a long list of very distinguished credentials and is currently involved with the clinic at the University of Washington Medical Centre. He spoke about the kinds of MS, genetics, research and at the end of his talk there was a chance to have a Q&A segment.
A couple of things that stayed with me were the statements that for every flare up you have with this disease, there are 6 or more you don’t realise have happened. He also spoke about the power of the mind, positive thinking and how deep sleep can help the healing process. He was a very informative speaker who didn’t shy away from sticky questions.
Dr Helmut Butzkueven spoke about the Australian contribution to MS research – he was a very humorous speaker and more importantly easy to understand (talking with a German accent, but in layman’s terms!). He told us about the Tasgen and Vicgen studies (genetic studies in Tasmania and Victoria) that began in 1999.
Before lunch there was the slide show of all the “Go for Gold” winners, which was very humbling to watch and realise that as a winner your contribution to life was considered worthy of an award.
Dr Elizabeth Mc Donald, Medical Director of the MS Centre was honoured for 20 years of service.
The winner of the Sir Louis Pyke award was Maggie Mote.
There were other speakers in - Mr Robin (Bushy) Laird – MS Advisory Group, Dr Leslie Sedal and Dr Judy Wollin.
Overall the day was informative, but very, very long. I am sure that if I wasn’t taking notes I would of come away in a very confused state! There was so much to take in, but I suppose depending on what you as an individual expect to get out of the day, varies.
By Jennifer Hodges (Kanga)
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