Diagnosis and beyond: Tony Hale
The February and May 2009 issues of Open Door included articles by people in their twenties describing their reactions to being diagnosed with MS.
These generated lots of comments, particularly from people who now have the perspective of having lived with the unpredictability and variability of MS for some years.
Tony Hale was a self-confessed fitness fanatic and adrenalin junkie:
I am 31 and was diagnosed with relapsing remitting MS at 25 in October 2003.
To give you some idea of my life before MS: I played rugby at a high level, and was fortunate to have been team-mates to three England players, including Jonny Wilkinson. I was out all the time, and if I wasn't playing, coaching or training or helping to set up a ladies team, then I was in the gym.
In 2001 I decided to use my redundancy money from my job as a graphic designer to see the world. I followed the sun, visiting and doing as much as I could. If it was there, I had a go - skydiving, bungee jumping, swimming with dolphins, Scuba diving, climbing mountains... the lot! I'm so glad I did; there's no way I could do those things now.
I managed 11 months but began to struggle with swallowing, vision and fatigue and eventually had to give in to my early symptoms and come back home to the UK. At first, I was treated for an inner ear infection but my GP wasn't happy with that so it was back to the hospital. When I saw the neurologist to discuss the results of my MRI, he told me I had MS. I knew nothing of the condition so my first response was 'OK, so when can I play rugby again.'
That door has been closed on me and it took well over a year before I could even watch a game on TV.
But as one door closed, another one opened. Out of the blue I got an email asking me if I would like to go on a course, to train as a coach for wheelchair rugby. I told my old rugby team captain about it and he and my old club helped to raise the funds for me to do it. Right up until the day before I was tempted not to go. But after all the hard work raising the money, I couldn't back out or let them down. So in March this year I qualified as a national wheelchair rugby coach. I'm in regular contact with the GB director and he is keen for me to help build a team in the southwest and to get in a chair myself and compete for a place. It's a paralympic sport, so 2012 is now a goal!
I was recently asked by my old rugby team-mate to be his best man. When it came to his stag party, he wanted a dress code so I suggested it should be 'anything to do with hospitals'. He loved the idea. People came as accident victims, with crutches and bandages. We even had surgeons. We all got plastered, in more ways than one! But I was in my wheelchair, so I had a great outfit and didn't have to worry about losing my balance! We met up with another stag do and one of their guys had a friend with MS. We've been in touch since.
I thought I was going to be single for the rest of my life and wallow in depression but I've also met a lady with MS and we got on really well. There is always hope!
I started playing sport when I was seven and thought that I could never do it again. I struggle with fatigue, use a stick, FES or wheelchair if I'm having a bad time. My MS nurse says I am now borderline secondary progressive but now I can aim for something and know there is always an answer. You don't have a choice with the cards you're dealt with in life, but it's how you play the game that counts.
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- Staying active - rugby
