When she was in her 40s, Helen Dick lost three of her best friends. Their deaths later compelled Helen to consider her legacy and ways she could help others.
“In my 50s, I decided to leave gifts in my Will to three charities important to me,” she explains.
One gift was earmarked for a cancer charity in memory of one of her friends. It took on more significance when Helen also battled cancer.
Another will go to a charity focused on music, her passion.
The third is for MS Plus. That gift also has personal significance because Helen, now 89, has battled MS for 50 years.
Helen’s MS symptoms emerged around 1974. She was working as a teacher in a private school in Melbourne. The job was demanding, and she often felt exhausted.
But she also felt something else was causing her fatigue and sought medical advice.
“I went through a stage where I couldn’t get out of the car or go up an escalator. The doctor thought it was something to do with my inner ear. Then I got tingling down my spine.
“I had two lumber punctures, but they didn’t show anything definite. The specialist said I had a neurological disorder but was reluctant to call it MS.
“My fatigue got worse. I was under stress at school, my friends died. Then I learned I definitely had MS,” she recalls.
By her late 40s, Helen’s career was on an upward trajectory, and she became deputy head of the senior school. But the workload snowballed, and her neurologist urged her to quit for health reasons.
Helen resisted and moved to the headmistress post in the junior school. She did that job for 18 months. But it was too much. At 49, she reluctantly retired.
“After that, I tutored and drafted articles for year 12 students. But it was a blow as all my friends were still working,” says Helen.
Then came the cancer.
“Everything blew up. I know stress plays a huge role in things like cancer. It likely factors in MS,” she says.
She fought and beat the cancer.
Meanwhile, the MS progressed. Over time, it affected Helen’s mobility and activity levels. But she soldiered on, doing what she liked for as long as possible.
She moved to the Mornington Peninsula for a more relaxed lifestyle. She also taught adult education classes for 14 years, which she loved.
As Helen heads towards her 90s, she thinks again about why she’s leaving a gift to MS Plus.
“After my diagnosis, a friend went with me to an MS centre, and I met several patients. I was particularly upset about some young women who had just become pregnant and suddenly had this diagnosis. I kept thinking how terrible they got MS so early.
“Those encounters prompted me to think about how I could help. I felt leaving a gift in my Will and donating to MS Plus were the things I could do.
“MS Plus is terrific in the way it supports people. I told them I was leaving them a gift in my Will. I said put it where it's needed most. I feel good about this decision. It’s something I can do that’s positive!”
Could you help protect future generations from MS? A gift in your Will could fund research or make more services available to the MS community. If you’d like to know more, contact the MS Plus Future Planning Team on 1800 443 867. You can also email [email protected], or visit the MS Plus website.