Robert’s unique insight into MS research

Lifestyle – Robert Joyce has lived with Multiple Sclerosis for most of his adult life since being diagnosed with the condition in 1990.  The Clifden man tells Paddy Henry about developments in MS treatment over the last 30 years and how his involvement with a research team at NUI Galway has given him a new lease of life. 

Robert Joyce was just 23 when he sat in a neurologist’s office, and the words “You have MS” were uttered to him. The year was 1990, a time when little was known about this condition that damages the central nervous system.

Having just graduated with a Bachelor of commerce from NUI Galway, Robert was on the crest of a wave. He had found work with an accountancy firm in London and was brimming with youthful exuberance.

But when he returned to Ireland for his graduation Robert began to feel a numb sensation in his heels that he knew wasn’t right.

He made an appointment to see his doctor. As it happened, she too had the condition and referred him to a specialist immediately.

“I was very lucky,” he recalls. The GP I went to had Multiple Sclerosis herself. She saw it in me and referred me to a neurologist who specialised in MS.”

It was at that fast-tracked meeting with the specialist that Robert received the devastating diagnosis, but at the time, he knew nothing about the condition. In fact, thirty years ago the medical profession was still only learning about its complexities. A shocked Robert recalls researching MS, hoping for some clarity around his diagnosis.

“I checked in an encyclopaedia at the time and all it said was, ‘Multiple Sclerosis is a lifelong illness, there is no cure and you can die from it’,” he explains.

That was it.

“At the time it had no treatment, no therapy and two recommendations, ‘keep doing what you’re doing, and take evening primrose oil’,” he says of the advice.

It’s hard to think of how a more cruel hand could have been dealt to this young man in his early 20s, who had his whole life ahead of him, someone who looked on course to reach the top of his field. But, once he had the news, Robert took the diagnosis in his stride, focusing on the bigger picture and adopting a pragmatic approach.

“If there’s nothing I can do, there’s no point dwelling on it”, he says of his attitude at the time.

The Clifden man’ outlook hasn’t changed in the intervening years, despite his condition worsening. It has progressed from Relapsing Remitting to Secondary Progressive, which is the more severe form of the disease.

For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.

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