Alex Tsirigotis lives in North London with his wife and two children. He was a keen footballer, playing three times a week when in 2012 he suffered a knee injury which kept him out of action for 6 months.
During his rehabilitation he began to experience visual and balance impairments when engaging in light physical activity. Following several doctor referrals and tests, he eventually received a devastating diagnosis of Relapse Remitting Multiple Sclerosis (MS) in 2013.
Refusing to give up hope that there was something that could be done to combat the condition, he immediately started researching and quickly came across Overcoming Multiple Sclerosis (OMS), a registered charity promoting a programme of living shown to improve the health and lives of people living with MS. OMS promotes the integration of a whole-foods plant based diet and lifestyle changes into standard medical management programme. Professor George Jelinek, who was diagnosed with MS in 1999, developed the rigorously researched OMS Recovery Program more than 17 years ago.
"My mother died of MS in 1981. Towards the end of her
life, she was totally incapacitated, unable to feed or care for herself.
I was diagnosed with MS in 1999. I was determined that this was not
going to be my fate. Fortunately, my career as a Professor in Emergency
Medicine and background as Editor-in-Chief of a major medical journal
gave me the tools to sort through the medical literature on MS, giving
appropriate weight to the various pieces of evidence I found. What I
found startled me. The literature is full of answers. It is clear that
remaining well after a diagnosis of MS is more than just a possibility.
With commitment to the right lifestyle changes, there is the real
probability that many people with MS can live long, healthy lives
relatively free of the usual problems associated with the illness.”
– George Jelinek
In the days following his diagnosis Alex immediately embraced all aspects of the lifestyle/programme (including diet, exercise, meditation, and vitamin d supplements) and has continued for the past six years. Despite not being able to continue playing football and contact sports he eventually developed a love for running and cycling and has successfully completed a London to Paris cycle, several marathons, an ultra marathon and a 100 mile cycle all of which his neurologist told him would not be possible in the early days of diagnosis.
The work OMS have been undertaking has provided Alex with the tools to take charge of his own condition, and provided him with an incredible network of fellow OMSers, which have all enabled him to live healthier and feel fitter than he ever has done before.
This fundraising page has been setup to raise funds and awareness for OMS.
To see more please visit www.iAmATOMS.com
