About Martine

Still the only parent…

Two months after Martine was diagnosed with MS, her then-boyfriend (the father of her daughters) was diagnosed with lung cancer (with metastases to the liver and bones). After a nine-month period he died in May of 2011. During the year of illness of her friend the MS of Martine was stable. After his death, her MS became progressive, meaning that since then there has been a continuous deterioration. There were more and more restrictions; her world was and is still getting smaller. She continuously has to say goodbye to things that were recently still possible. It’s a continuous process of mourning for her. We saw (and see) much irritation, frustration and sadness. Fortunately, her daughters (11 and 9 years) and her current boyfriend help her a lot, solicited and unsolicited. Because they do not live together and her parents live on the other side of the country, she has to keep everything ‘running’ with her kids at home. Her children are already quite independent but they still have to be a child. Her greatest fear is that they can no longer care for the children, financially and practically.

Martine will continue to work as long as it cognitively possible. Because she is also breadwinner she’s trying very hard (sometimes a bit too hard) to continue working. Moreover, she also wants to feel useful, contribute something, be away from home and be ‘among people’ as much as possible. Luckily she has a ‘sedentary job’ and her colleagues and her boss facilitate her in all possible ways. We have great respect for the way she handles MS.