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Lauren had just landed a prestigious job. After studying law and working as a Judge鈥檚 Associate in the Supreme Court, she flew to Sydney to start a new role in a top-tier national law firm. The life Lauren had imagined for herself was beginning to unfold. Soon after arriving, however, this journey came to a standstill after Lauren paid a visit to her GP.

鈥淗e said I was showing some signs of multiple sclerosis,鈥� Lauren says. 鈥淕iven I was a young woman, he said he couldn鈥檛 put the possibility of MS off the table. To be honest I thought he was crazy. I was doing triathlons, I was working more than full time and I鈥檇 just moved to Sydney for a great career opportunity.鈥�

Later, when she lost movement in one of her arms, she knew something was wrong. Lauren was taken straight to the emergency department and was hospitalised for a week.

鈥淭hat was actually the most challenging experience,鈥� says Lauren. 鈥淚鈥檇 never spent time in hospital before. I didn鈥檛 know what was going to happen and whether I would have to spend my life in this place now.鈥�

While in the emergency department, different specialists told her somewhat conflicting things about her condition 鈥� it was a confusing and stressful time. One doctor said she needed to 鈥減repare herself鈥�. Another told her she would have to give up her career as a lawyer. Someone else said she wouldn鈥檛 be able to wear high heels again. 鈥淚 thought that was a strange comment,鈥� Lauren says. 鈥淏ut I鈥檓 here now wearing high heels and I continue to wear high heels as a form of rebellion against that particular statement. Whenever I put them on I always think about that.鈥�

Finally, a doctor sat with Lauren and asked her about herself, her career and what she did outside of work. 鈥淗e was the one who thought Michael Barnett at the Brain and Mind Centre would be the perfect neurologist for me,鈥� Lauren says. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 how I got the referral.鈥�

It has now been seven years since Lauren first saw Professor Michael Barnett, a neurologist and multiple sclerosis specialist at the University of Sydney鈥檚 Brain and Mind Centre. He has helped Lauren throughout her journey with MS, from navigating the initial diagnosis to treatment and ongoing management. His clinic is the only MS facility in Australia that is based within a university, and therefore integrated with the latest research. In fact, 70 percent of his patients take part in research studies. In doing so, they directly inform new approaches to MS and drive fresh discoveries.

鈥淭he thing with MS is, if you stop it when you鈥檙e young, you don鈥檛 have that damage going forward,鈥� says Lauren. 鈥淪o it鈥檚 been really important to get in early and stop it in its tracks and that鈥檚 exactly what Michael did for me.鈥�

Lauren has not had any relapses or degeneration so far.

However, it was a difficult time for Lauren when she first began working with Michael. 聽As is often the case, she was put on frontline medication, but after a few months, it stopped working. She had to change medications, which is a daunting prospect for anyone faced with chronic illness.

Lauren immersed herself in reading about MS treatments and possible side effects. 鈥淢ichael and I had to make a decision on what was next,鈥� she says. 鈥淭hat was quite a tough scenario because at the time, the medication I was thinking about taking had certain risks and side effects that were quite scary for someone at the age of 25 to contemplate.鈥�

What set Michael apart from other specialists was that he saw Lauren as an equal and a partner in her treatment. 鈥淗e really talked me through all the options,鈥� she says. 鈥淗e told me all the potential risks and benefits of certain medications in a sensible way. He told me his opinion but ultimately he treated me as another professional who could make their own decision.鈥�

Lauren also knew Michael didn鈥檛 just treat his patients 鈥� he was committed to finding the best treatments possible. This gave her the confidence to trust his advice.

鈥淲hat I appreciate about seeing Michael is knowing that he is very much involved in the research 鈥� he鈥檚 at the forefront of it 鈥� so he really knows what鈥檚 going on. He鈥檚 across all of the new medications. And the new generation of MS drugs has changed so much.鈥�

Together, Lauren and Michael, patient and doctor, decided to shift onto a different medication, one that Lauren is still using today. 鈥淚t鈥檚 worked wonders,鈥� she says. 鈥淪ince taking it, they鈥檝e also figured out how to know whether you as an individual have particular risks and luckily I鈥檝e come up in a very low category for side effects.鈥�

When Lauren first came to see Michael, she was a career-driven 25-year-old who had just graduated university with first-class honours. 鈥淎ll I knew at that point, to be honest, was that my career really mattered to me. That was my focus at the time. And he really took that on board, he always has,鈥� she says.

鈥淢y main question for Michael in the beginning was, 鈥楥an I still be a lawyer?鈥� and I remember him saying, 鈥榃ell, do you want to be a lawyer? Because if you want to be a lawyer, you can be!鈥�

鈥淚t鈥檚 a narrative Michael has always had with me: 鈥榊ou鈥檒l manage this, you鈥檒l have a career and a life, as you wanted. Maybe with a few more challenges along the way but you鈥檒l be able to achieve all of those things.鈥� I shouldn鈥檛 give up on those dreams. That鈥檚 always been the narrative from the very beginning.鈥�

鈥淚鈥檝e gone on to have a career beyond what I ever dreamed in my 鈥榩re-MS life鈥�. I took a path less travelled and followed my dreams of becoming an academic lawyer. I鈥檓 now an academic at one of Australia鈥檚 top law schools, and in the last two years have been invited to present my cutting edge legal research at universities in the United States, Canada, Norway, Denmark, the Netherlands and Ireland, as well as all around Australia.鈥�

鈥淎s I sit in airports around the world, I often think of my MS diagnosis as a pivotal point in shaping who I am, and who I will become. I know Michael and the Brain and Mind Centre will be part of that journey and be proud of me. In fact, on my fifth MS 鈥榓nniversary鈥� I sent Michael a postcard from where I had just finished presenting at a conference in Norway, noting that I was about to spend a week kayaking in the Norwegian fjords!鈥澛犅�

鈥淢S diagnosis and treatment has moved so quickly in the past decade that it鈥檚 hard to keep up. It鈥檚 important for the community to realise it has changed a lot and it鈥檚 because of people like Michael Barnett who are at the forefront of the research that we have the opportunity to live normal lives and have the same dreams as everyone else.鈥�