When you meet Gold Coast University Hospital (GCUH) Director Support Officer (DSO), Madelene (Maddie) Leverett you¡¯ll probably notice her fabulous hot pink eyelashes.
What you¡¯re unlikely to notice is that Maddie has Multiple Sclerosis (MS) ¨C a disease of the central nervous system.
Maddie says, ¡°It¡¯s a common misconception that people with MS are likely to be in a wheelchair.¡±
Far from being confined to a wheelchair, Maddie has just added ¡®endurance cyclist¡¯ to her resume, with the help of work colleagues.
¡°Nursing Directors, Tracey Bishop and Claire Oliver had just come back from a charity ride in Thailand, and were super keen to continue with fundraising rides,¡± Maddie said.
They encouraged Maddie, along with fellow DSO Bianca Bates, to join their ¡®Curls and Curves¡¯ team for the 25-kilometre section of , mid-June.
There was one major obstacle ¨C and it wasn¡¯t Maddie¡¯s MS diagnosis, or her ongoing battle with fatigue and weakness in her legs.
¡°I hadn¡¯t been on a bike since I was a child. I didn¡¯t even own a bike,¡± Maddie said.
With little training ¨C or rather, no training at all ¨C Maddie took on the mountainous challenge, surrounded by her supportive colleagues.
¡°Everyone warned me about the hills, but I wasn¡¯t prepared for them. There were a lot of hills,¡± she said.
¡°Tracey had an electric bike that she was trying to palm off on me. But I refused.
¡°Hearing my daughter¡¯s voice call out ¡®Mummy¡¯ as I crossed the line was incredibly exciting. I was so proud of myself because I¡¯ve never done anything like that before.¡±
Claire adds, ¡°To see her family there at the end, there were tears. Once you¡¯ve accomplished it, you feel invincible.¡±
You could forgive Maddie for her lack of preparation for the ride when you learn what she is juggling daily; full-time work, the demands of raising two young children and Coeliac Disease, not to mention MS symptoms.
So, why add fundraising and cycling to the list?
¡° has been the most amazing support for me,¡± Maddie said. ¡°The charity¡¯s vision is that no Queenslander faces MS alone.¡±
¡°Hand on heart, I can say that I have not felt alone in this journey. They have been so supportive.¡±
Curls and Curves raised more than $1,300 to say ¡®thank you¡¯ to MS Queensland for supporting Maddie from Day 1, following her diagnosis in 2019 when she temporarily lost vision in her right eye.
¡°I kept asking people, ¡®Is there something in my eye?¡¯ They kept saying that it must be an eyelash.¡±
In fact, Maddie¡¯s optic nerve was inflamed - a common symptom of MS.
¡°I had been falling over a little bit and losing my balance, which was terrifying because I had a young child,¡± she said.
¡°I was holding my daughter once and I fell over quite badly, and we were both hurt.¡±
Immediately after diagnosis, Maddie fell pregnant with her second child.
¡°Specialists had advised that pregnancy can keep MS at bay, so if I was wanting more children, it would be the best time to try. But, in the end, my treatments during pregnancy weren¡¯t effective.¡±
She eventually started a form of chemotherapy, receiving eight-hour infusions for several days, over two years, which has dramatically slowed the progression of the disease.
¡°Since then, I have had no new lesions on my brain, which means the treatment is working,¡± Maddie said.
¡°Now I have a dedicated Occupational Therapist (through MS Queensland) who phones me twice a fortnight, to check in and see if I have any new symptoms and if they can help in any way.
¡°They make sure I can stay in my job at GCUH, and stay active, for as long as possible.¡±
Maddie¡¯s refusal to wallow in self-pity and ¡®look unwell¡¯ creates another problem.
¡°That¡¯s the worst thing about having MS. People tend not to believe you when you say, ¡®I¡¯m not feeling well today.¡¯¡±
It has made her reluctant to use a blue Disability Parking Permit, fearing people will question why she has one.
¡°Do I need to walk around with no make-up on, with dirty hair and clothes for people to believe that I¡¯m struggling,¡± she said.
¡°Hidden disability is such a big thing. There¡¯s not a lot of awareness.
¡°Anyone can have MS. People can be unwell and still look well.¡±
Claire chimes in, ¡°She¡¯s amazing. If she had never told me, you wouldn¡¯t have known.¡±
¡°I can understand that when people don¡¯t see the physical issues, it can be quite challenging.¡±
To help raise awareness of hidden disabilities, Maddie wears a sunflower lanyard.
¡°It¡¯s a way of letting people know that you may require extra assistance. If they see that I¡¯ve fallen over, for example, and they see the sunflower lanyard, they will know that I have a hidden condition,¡± she said.
Gold Coast Health supports the Sunflower Lanyard scheme.
Diversity and Inclusion manager Jed Shiels says, ¡°Gold Coast Health looks forward to expanding the program in 2023, alongside building our workforces¡¯ capability to respond to those with an invisible disability.¡±
He encourages anyone at Gold Coast Health who wants more information about the lanyard to email [email protected].
¡°It warms my heart because they are so understanding,¡± Maddie says of her Gold Coast Health and GCUH colleagues, as well as her MS Queensland team.
¡°To have a group of people around you every day who are so supportive is an amazing feeling.¡±