Sharing life of caring wife of husband with MS

Today, I have handed the writing over to my wife Lisa to talk about caring for a husband with multiple sclerosis.

Lisa writes:

Yesterday was a special day as Ian and I celebrated our wedding anniversary and enjoyed a lovely meal out in a great local restaurant here in Spain.

With Ian reaching his 64th birthday next week, and me being a few years younger, it may be surprising that yesterday was only our fifth anniversary. We have, obviously, both been married before.

I knew that my beloved had MS well before we tied the knot and knew what that could mean for both of us because my grandfather had it too.

As I am Ian’s wife, being his personal carer also falls to me. But that is not onerous to me, after all we are deeply in love and have a great sharing life; what I do as a carer is not a duty but a labour of love.

So, what is the care I give on a daily basis? There are actually too many to list in detail but I’ll just touch on the major ones.

Personal care

1. Fastening/unfastening buttons
2. Helping to shower
3. Personal grooming

Living

1. Preparation of all food and drinkH
2. Cutting up anything large into bite-size pieces as Ian cannot hold both a knife and fork
3. All household cleaning
4. All laundry, including washing extra clothing because of bladder problems

Mobility

1. Getting wheelchair out of and back into our car
2. Pushing Ian about in his manual wheelchair prior to him getting his new electric one
3. Helping him when walking using his cane

Then there are the times when Ian takes a tumble, whether by tripping or just his knee giving way. Generally, he manages to fall without hurting himself and, through determination and tenacity, somehow manages to get back to his feet unaided.  But there are certain times that he needs my help – and I have to be on hand to provide it.

Oh, yes, one last thing, the two of us have an agreement that when anything concerns his health, I have the final say.

50shadesofsun.com is the personal website of Ian Franks, who is Managing Editor (columns division) of BioNews Services. BioNews is owner of 50 disease-specific news and information websites – including MS News Today. Ian has enjoyed a successful career as a journalist, from reporter to editor, in the print media. During that career he gained a Journalist of the Year award in his native UK. He was diagnosed with MS in 2002 but continued working until mobility problems forced him to retire early in late 2006. He now lives in the south of Spain. Besides MS, Ian is also able to write about both epilepsy and cardiovascular matters from a patient’s perspective and is a keen advocate on mobility and accessibility issues.

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