A New Life:Despite having MS and partial blindness, Debbie Mohan is challenging life. Claire O'Connellreports
For most of us, flying half way around the world and then trekking across rocky terrain at high altitude for eight days would be somewhat strenuous. It was even more so for Debbie Mohan from Drogheda: she has multiple sclerosis (MS) and is registered blind.
But this didn't stop her hiking an Inca trail in Peru in September for charity, nor has it thwarted her enthusiasm for going back to college, a full 18 years after she left school.
Mohan first developed symptoms of MS, a condition that affects the ability of the nerves to transmit signals to and from the brain, in 1999. She started to get painful, day-long headaches that worsened if she moved her eyes. "It was a horrible time," she recalls.
Next her eyesight started to fail, and things sometimes looked blurry. But it was only when she sat next to her nine-year old daughter, Leah, to watch The Simpsonsone evening that she realised something was seriously wrong.
"Bart Simpson was grey instead of yellow," she says. "At first I thought the reception was gone on the TV, but when I asked Leah, she told me he was yellow. It was only when my colour went that I got a shock."
Mohan was diagnosed with optic neuritis, a condition that affects the nerve between the eye and the brain. Then her face started to feel numb and she had difficulty walking.
She suspected she might have multiple sclerosis but with no history of the condition in her family, she put that concern to the back of her mind.
So when she got the formal diagnosis, she says it was a shock but also a relief.
"I had thought I was going mad," she says.
Mohan started on injections of beta-interferon to slow down the progression of the disease, although her sight continued to worsen, and losing aspects of her independence led her through a grieving process.
"When I couldn't drive any more I was angry and frustrated over that, but I accept it now, and I think it's much easier to live with myself because I am looking at what I can do."
Over the years she has developed other coping mechanisms too, such as focusing on the present. "I try not to look at 'what if?', not to look too far into the future and not to look into the past, to try to focus on the present and the actual situation at the moment.
"There are times when I think about what might happen if it gets worse and then I think 'hold on, I'm all right now, I can eat, I can drink'. That is what is getting me through in a lot of cases."
Living with a disability has also encouraged Mohan to change her priorities and take on some challenges she might otherwise have left untried.
A recent milestone in this fresh approach was the walk in Peru to raise funds for MS services in Ireland. When her brother, Barry, found out about the event and wanted to go, Mohan and her now 16-year-old daughter decided to go with him.
They raised around €13,000 for the trip and RTÉ's Health Squadhelped Mohan prepare psychologically and physically for the gruelling trek.
The timing was perfect too - she had just started on the MS drug Tysabri, which doesn't require daily injections, so she had a new-found freedom to enjoy.
In Peru, Mohan negotiated the rocky Machu Picchu trail despite her limited central vision, walking for up to three hours a day within the group of over 40 people.
"It took a lot of concentration," she smiles. "I'd go to bed at night and all I would see in front of me was rocks."
But there were ample rewards. "It was an amazing experience and I'd recommend it for other people with MS who have good mobility. It was tough but it was brilliant."
Now Mohan has started a four-year BA in social studies in Dundalk Institute of Technology, fulfilling a long-held dream to study at third level.
"I've always wanted to go to college and here I am going, 18 years later," she laughs. "It is very challenging - especially the logistics - but I love it.
"Head-wise I am well able for it academically but the day-to-day walking around the college is tiring," she says.
"Still, I love being in the classroom, I love the learning and the whole buzz of the college."
An experienced community worker, after her degree Mohan hopes to work on behalf of people with disabilities.
"I want to do indirect advocacy where I'm breaking down some of the adversity and promoting awareness around disability.
"Having a disability now makes me realise how difficult it can be, and that you are still the same person. I have met so many people with advanced stages of MS and it's inspiring," she says.
In the meantime, she continues to surround herself with supportive family, friends and medical staff, which she says is key to getting on with her life with MS.
"It's a lifelong thing and if you have good people backing you up, it's very important psychologically," she says.
For more information on multiple sclerosis, call the Multiple Sclerosis Society of Ireland helpline on 1850-233-233 or visit www.ms-society.ie
* Debbie Mohan will be featured on The Health Squad, RTÉ1, Thursday November 30th, at 8.30pm.