LOCAL LIFE
MAKE A DIFFERENCE : Nicole Matutina
by Lorna Gordon
Multiple Sclerosis ( MS ) is a chronic neurological disease that affects over 33,000 people in Australia with one to two people being diagnosed each day . It ’ s a condition that can affect each person differently depending on which part of the brain , spinal column or optic nerve is affected .
Some people have minimal symptoms which can be a one off or have continual problems which vary in intensity over time . There is no known cure for MS at the moment , however there are treatments available to help .
Local Kings Park mum , Nicole Matutina is a dance teacher and has been a dancer all her life . About twelve years ago she started to notice her balance was off and was tripping over her own feet while teaching classes at her dance school , 2Step Dance in Seven Hills .
Putting it down to an ear infection she continued , but after a while she noticed it wasn ’ t improving and when she spoke to her doctor , she was referred on to a neurologist who , after going through her symptoms was fairly sure Nicole had MS . She had to undergo MRI and CT scans on her body for them to fully see what was happening , but she was finally given the formal diagnosis of MS .
Nicole is a determined woman and has managed to deal with her illness which amongst other things still affects her balance and causes her to have numb feet and legs . Recently she has felt she is becoming more reliant on her children for help with basic day to day activities we take for granted , which doesn ’ t sit well with her . “ My kids are older , my son is 11 and daughter is eight and I ’ m relying on them , where it should be the other way round . They help me walk up and down stairs , carry bags out from the car for me and I ’ m becoming more and more reliant on them . While it ’ s teaching them to be responsible and making them resilient and they are happy to help me , I don ’ t want them to have to care for me , it ’ s my job to look after them .”
This realisation has made Nicole look into therapies for MS to help her become more independent and her husband found one in Mexico which Nicole has been accepted into . The treatment is quite complicated ; they take your own stem cells and use the ‘ good ’ ones to put back into your body after you receive chemotherapy . It ’ s meant to kickstart your body ’ s own regeneration of stem cells .
“ The treatment is available in Australia for some cancer patients , and it can work very well , but at this time , it ’ s not offered to people with MS , which I hope will change in the future ,” Nicole explained .
To do this she is trying to raise $ 100,000 through donations and has already reached nearly $ 40,000 on her go fund me page at gofund . me / 0ca153e9 . She is also working towards raising awareness of MS and how it can affect people who have it , and is encouraging kids to take part in the MS readathons , so get your kids reading and help raise awareness and funds for charity .
Nicole wants to raise awareness of MS in the community .
BLACKTOWN CITY INDEPENDENT theindependentmagazine . com . au ISSUE 43 // OCTOBER 2024 9