Mary-Ann Germain

It was very soon after the birth of her second child 10 years ago, that Mary-Ann Germain was given the news she had multiple sclerosis (MS). It was then she realised she had been living with MS for many years prior to that.

Mary-Ann remembers experiencing her first MS symptoms while still at medical school - she had problems with weakness in her hands. She went on to complete her degree and travelled extensively, even climbing to the Mt Everest Base Camp!

Mary-Ann then trained as an Oncologist before deciding to specialise in psychiatry. In between her studies, she married her wonderful partner and decided to start her family. She gave birth to her son and then three years later her daughter - they now make everything worthwhile!

Over the years, Mary-Ann has endured misdiagnosed symptoms such as fatigue, tremors and unsteadiness. Following the birth of her daughter, she experienced extreme sensory changes from the neck down and a major loss of balance. It became unsafe for her to even hold her baby and her husband and mother had to help dress and care for her newborn child.

Mary-Ann exercises regularly and finds that people are often disbelieving when they learn she has MS. "But you look so good," they say. She has become an MS Ambassador to raise the awareness of MS in the community and to challenge the misconception that the "typical" person with MS is in a wheelchair. In addition to her role as a wife and "personal assistant and chauffeur" to her children, Mary-Ann is also thankful she can continue to work part-time as a Child, Adolescent and Family Psychiatrist in her own private medical practice.