‘I just had to do it differently’: resilience and MS in Lebanon

The Amis Libanais des Sclérosés En Plaques (ALSEP) has created a powerful video series talking about resilience and MS. The videos are being used to raise awareness and give hope to people who have recently been diagnosed with MS.

ALSEP board member and Beirut advisor, Wissam Al Hajj, says;

‘We wanted to tell people that living with MS still means doing things that you enjoy. These videos were a way to reach people and show others that you can have a successful life with MS.

These videos can be very helpful for the newly diagnosed, it’s always helpful for them to know that after the hard time, things can change and it will become easier if they live positively. MS isn’t the end of the world and it should not define who you are as a person.’

The videos feature Nahed and Georges who both live with MS in Lebanon. Nahed shares how she stays true to herself in spite of MS. In the video Nahed says:

‘MS is definitely hard to deal with but there comes a point where you realize that if you can deal with this that you can deal with anything…I started to believe that I can be myself regardless of my disease. I can work, I can be active and I began practicing things that I was not able to do before.

I thought that MS was going to put me down, but because of it I started to value the true meaning of life. I live each day on its own, and each day is important.’

Nahed’s story.

Georges was devastated to be diagnosed with MS five years ago but has found new ways to adjust.

‘There are many days where I fall down while I’m walking but I get back up and don’t let anything get in my way. I was able to adjust to a new lifestyle and I understand how to live with MS.

My life stopped at a certain point, but I decided to keep going. I just had to do it differently and this is what allowed me to become a new person.’

George’s story.

The videos have proved to be extremely popular on social media with almost 10,000 views on Facebook.

Both videos were created by ALSEP with the support of Merck