Michael's blog - life as a husband, father, carer and student!

Michael is 32 and his wife Julie has secondary progressive MS. They have a daughter, Alice Rose, who is 2 years old.

Welcome to my first blog. I thought I’d start by sharing some details about myself and what I hope to get out of writing a blog for you.

My name is Michael, I’m 32 years old and I have a wonderful wife and daughter.  My wife Julie is going to write her own blog so I don’t want to go into too much detail of how her MS has progressed over the years.  I’ll leave that to her.

Julie has had MS for 6 years, and since the birth of our daughter in 2009 she has used a wheelchair.  We have carers who come in twice a day whilst I'm at work and we rely heavily on my parents for help.

My main interests are Formula 1 and movies, and I like to work out although I never seem to have time these days. If I'm not at uni, I’m usually looking after Julie and Alice or doing assignments. I've started an Advanced Diploma in Adult Nursing at Northumbria University and I'm loving it. Although is very hard work it's extremely interesting, and I've met a great group of people. I start my first placement in November. Needless to say, I don’t have much time for a social life!! I told Julie I felt I’d found my purpose in life.  I really hope it works out.

It was a college project which lead me to the MS Society forums.  I wriote a report on the effects caring has on carers and whether there is enough support for us. The biggest surprise for me was the amount of conflicting information I found.  I thought it would be a great idea to share my experiences and to open a dialogue with other people in the ‘MS community’. 

Hopefully Julie’s blog will provide another view on how we deal with MS as a family.  Maybe we’ll have differing opinions which will be interesting to read.  I’m an open and honest person and wear my heart on my sleeve.  I’m happy to answer any questions and I’m looking forward to reading, and responding to your blogs as well.

That’s me in a nutshell.  I hope something I’ve written here has sparked an interest and I look forward to seeing you again soon.

Michael