U n’ I with Rashmi Shetty- Ann Gonzalez & Smitha Sadasivan - MSSI & India MS Day

India Multiple Sclerosis Day (India MS Day) is the only awareness-raising campaign all over India. This falls on the first Sunday of February every year. This year it is on the 5th of February, 2023. The theme for this year’s India MS Day is “Celebrate MS”.

Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is a disease of the Central Nervous System, affecting its functioning unexpectedly and repeatedly, resulting in devastating disabilities in young people in the prime of their lives. It is also known as the “Crippler of the Young Adult”.

Multiple Sclerosis has various symptoms ranging from minor visual disturbance to total paralysis, due to which simplest everyday tasks can no longer be efficiently performed known as a rare disease, it brings about 41 invisible disabilities hence it has been classified as a disability under the Government of India RPWD Act, 2016.

In India there is little or no support for people living with MS i.e., from medicines to Disability cards & pensions and part of our job is to help those people to get together and improve their health & situation.

The Chennai Chapter of the Multiple Sclerosis Society of India in keeping up with the theme of this year which is “Celebrate MS, is having an Evening of Song/ Games, etc., at the Anna Nagar Tower Park from 3.00 pm to 6.00 pm on 5th February 2023, in order to create awareness of MS.

The Chief Guest of the function is Honored by Chief Guest Shri Gagandeep Singh Bedi, Commissioner, Greater Chennai Corporation, Chennai.

The purpose India MS Day campaign is to raise awareness of four key messages in order to improve public knowledge and awareness of MS:

1. There is no known CAUSE or CURE for Multiple Sclerosis (MS).

2. MS is usually diagnosed between the ages of 25 and 40 and lasts a lifetime – KNOWN AS THE “Crippler of the Young Adult”

3. MS symptoms vary from person to person. This makes life with MS unpredictable. There are more “Invisible Symptoms than “Visible Symptoms”.

4. Medicines only stem the progression of the disease.

5. Treatments and services are improving for people with MS, but the costs of treatment are prohibitive

We would like you as the Media, to highlight “What MS is” and its Invisible Symptoms thereby creating awareness of this orphan & rare disease, among the general public.

Our guests today are from MSSI -Multiple Sclerosis Society of Ind/ are Ms. Ann Gonzalez & Smitha Sadasivan

Ms. Ann Gonzalez whose priority today is MSSI the & MS persons. She believes once an MS person comes into our fold it is a lifelong relationship. This is the driving force for this ex-banker who has served at YWCA in various capacities & in many other associations, Her priority today is MSSI. Her driving forces are her siblings who are in the medical field and her strong belief that the Almighty has gifted us a purpose.

Smitha Sadasivan is a Cross-Disability inclusion and accessibility practitioner with Multiple Sclerosis from Chennai. Smitha dons many hats and has multiple roles to play including being a resource person. She is the Accessibility Consultant to the Election Commission of India, apart from being an active member of Disability Rights Alliance India. She is a member of the Multiple Sclerosis Society of India (MSSI). She is associated with different forums, initiatives, and organizations including Vidya Sagar& South Asia Regional Program on Women’s Institute on Leadership and Disability.

Apart from many awards and recognitions, she was awarded the NCPEDP – Mphasis Javed Abidi Public Policy Award for Universal Design, in recognition of her efforts in promoting accessibility for people with disabilities.

Listen in as they share their journey with MSSI and how it has helped patients like Smitha & about India MS day this Sunday, Feb 5th, 2023.

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