By Andrea Klassen
Kamloops This Week
More than two decades after its founding, the Kamloops Multiple Sclerosis Society says the reason for its creation is within sight.
The society was created with the goal of having a dedicated MS clinic created in Kamloops.
Society chair Mike O’Reilly said he is hopeful the group will secure space for the clinic within the new clinical-services building at Royal Inland Hospital — and a specialized neurologist to go with it.
O’Reilly said a temporary clinic could be in place within nine months, with a more permanent setup to follow.
The society is in talks with a neurologist who has visited Kamloops many times and appears interested in moving to the city.
O’Reilly said the clinic would offer screening and treatments those diagnosed with MS in Kamloops can currently only access through the University of British Columbia.
“People with MS in the Kamloops area have to drive out to UBC, and some people are very disabled and it’s a very difficult task,” he said. “A lot of people just don’t go to their appointments because it’s too difficult or costly to get there.”
O’Reilly said Kamloops is the largest city in B.C. without a dedicated clinic.
The disease, which attacks the coating on nerve cells in the brain and spinal column, causing them to misfire, is typically diagnosed in people between the ages of 15 and 40.
Symptoms can include weakness and fatigue, lack of co-ordination and cognitive impairment.
Canada has the highest rate of MS in the world, with about 100,000 people affected.
