Strain of living with a chronic condition highlighted

4 September 2015

Media Release - Financial strain of living with a chronic condition highlighted during annual Multiple Sclerosis awareness week

Multiple sclerosis forced former Aucklander Amanda Kilford to stop working and more away from the city she loved.

When Kilford was diagnosed in 2002 she and her family were living on a 10-acre property in Waitakere township. The impact of MS on Kilford’s eyesight made the daily commute into central Auckland impossible and she had to give up her work as a Software Test Analyst.

“The Northwestern Motorway became too stressful for me to cope with. Living where we were our home had no cellphone coverage so working from home wasn't an option.”

With Kilford not working, the family were unable to keep up with their mortgage repayments and had to make the difficult decision to sell up.

“Everything and everyone we and our kids knew was in Auckland. We didn’t want to leave but we had no choice. We couldn’t afford to live in Auckland with me not working.”

Kilford and her husband and their two youngest daughters moved to Katikati, two hours drive from Auckland. “We were able to afford a single-level house here but the problem is there aren’t many opportunities here. We are now both unemployed and still struggling. I’m trying to find a new job, I have to.”

“Stories like Amanda Kilford’s are not uncommon,” says Multiple Sclerosis New Zealand (MSNZ) National Manager Amanda Keefe. “In 2006 MSNZ and the Health Research Council funded the Prevalence Study in conjunction with the 2006 Census. Results of this study showed that at least 67 per cent of respondents had changed their work status, most within the first four years of their MS diagnosis.”
Results also showed that:
· 54.6 per cent were not working despite 90 per cent having a work history (NZ overall average 22 per cent).

· The median annual personal income was NZ$20,000, compared with NZ$34,750 for the general NZ population.

· Income sources showed that over 30 per cent were receiving an Invalid’s Benefit compared with 3 per cent of the NZ population.

· The negative effect of an MS diagnosis on work status is significantly greater for women

“With the right support, information and advocacy people with MS do not always have to leave employment,” says Keefe. “It may just be a matter of making small changes to the work environment such as getting a new chair or a fan to regulate temperature, or taking extended or more frequent breaks.”

MSNZ and its regional societies help to provide support and advice. They also offer scholarships to help people with MS retrain so they can find new gainful employment. “Being a contributing member of society is invaluable for a person’s sense of wellbeing,” says Keefe. “Having the ability to provide for your family taken away from you has a huge impact on an individual and on their relationships with other.”

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