On 7th May the UK MS Register had the pleasure of attending an ‘MS Conversations’ event hosted by MS Society Cymru. The event was held at the Senedd Cymru buildings in Cardiff Bay, home of the Welsh Parliament.

The theme of this year’s MS Awareness Week was ‘MS Conversations’ with the message that opening up about MS can be empowering – whether it’s asking an employer for support, sharing diagnosis with a family member, or describing symptoms to a friend.

The event was opened by Peter Fox OBE, Member of the Senedd for the Monmouth constituency. Other speakers included Daf Wyn, presenter of daily show ‘Heno’ on Welsh language channel S4C. Daf was diagnosed with MS in 2021 aged 30 and uses his public profile to raise awareness and funds as an MS Society ambassador. Daf is the first Welsh-speaking ambassador and during his presentation he shared his own MS story in both Welsh and English.

 

The Register had a stand at the event and welcomed the opportunity to speak to people with MS and explain more about how the Register operates. Current data shows there are 6,111 people living with MS in Wales – one in every 500 people. Our Welsh-speaking senior analyst Elaine was available on the Register stand to speak with bilingual attendees, and we provided Welsh translations of our clinical consent packs.

We also heard from Shelley Elgin, Country Director, MS Society Cymru (pictured below) about the work the MS Society does in Wales. It was fantastic to learn more about the support that is on offer, including from the thirteen local Welsh MS groups who host events like coffee mornings and exercise classes across the country.

Upcoming MS Society events in Wales include Scale the Stadium in Cardiff on 1st June, the Gower Peninsula Challenge on 19th/20th July, and the MS Walk Cardiff on 20th September. For more on the support available in Wales click here.