Steven Van Ruyven

"Just go and do it"

"You're working too hard, take some days off" was the advice offered to Steven, a high profile marketing executive, following numerous visits to the local doctors surgery complaining of 24/7 exhaustion. Frustrated by the lack of logical outcomes, Steven left the last consultation feeling somewhat disbelieving, wondering if the health professional's preliminary diagnosis was that this healthy and fit looking individual was "making it up"?

Steven was now a husband and father, enjoying the spoils of a successful corporate career and living a carefree life, although the lingering fatigue continued to weigh him down, he continued to push through life as best he can. As the disease progressed he found that when he was not working he was sleeping, with little quality of life.

Other disturbing symptoms soon presented: left sided numbness, loss of fine motor skills and now the relentless fatigue was profound. A referral to a neurologist quickly followed, with a probable diagnosis of MS within the first five minutes of the consultation and as a result an immediate admission to hospital for treatment.

Knowing nothing about Multiple Sclerosis apart from the MS Readathon this young man felt relieved that he no longer needed to classify himself as a hypochondriac and that he could focus on dealing with the condition.

Following treatment, and education around multiple sclerosis, Steven kept working, with the little energy left for anything else. All too soon Steven was forced to make the traumatic decision, to have to take early retirement - at the age of 32.

Leaving the corporate world behind, and feeling like a "fish out of water" this lateral thinking man became a "MS Mom" and threw himself into helping his family and the community by volunteering with the local Landcare Group and School Council and learning to carefully manage his particular MS challenges.

Now, with careful and precise fatigue management, Steven is enjoying life and feels there is so much to do – including travel, which he initially thought was only going to exist in his past life.

MS Australia – ACT/NSW/VIC highly recommends high flying MS Ambassador Steven Van Ruyven who has embraced what life has thrown at him, and who now realises life is just too short, as he attempts to make the most of everything that falls his way.