MAKE SENSE OF IT
(MSOI) is a fundraising platform for the MS Society UK
Jonelle Roback set up MAKE SENSE OF IT (MSOI) in 2015 having been diagnosed with Relapse Remitting MS in 2009, and lives with debilitating condition on a daily basis. Every penny of the money received goes towards MAKE SENSE OF ITs chosen projects.
Up until now MSOI has supported two projects - the MS Society Grants fund and an MS Society funded research project to identify new ways to repair the damage done to the myelin sheath and therefore preventing the progression of MS. This project is now fully funded. To date MSOI has raised over £105,000 and was split 50:50 between the two projects.
​
There are over 130,000 people with MS in the UK and each year around 5,000 people are diagnosed with the condition. MS Specialist Nurses (MSSNs) play a vital role in helping people manage the complex and unpredictable symptoms of MS, the medication they may take for it, and coordinating the services they need.
​
During the Covid Pandemic lockdowns, Jonelle had trouble accessing her monthly MS medication and ended up turning to the MS Society Helpline for medication and mental health support. It was an MS Specialist Nurse that was able to help. Unfortunately there are not enough of these specialist nurses, so MSOI is now fundraising to be able to provide the MS Nursing helpline with another full-time MS Specialist Nurse (MSSN) to help the many people in need of help and advice.
​
MS SPECIALIST NURSES (MSSNs)
​
There are approximately 300 MSSNs across the UK, who were already struggling to meet demand before the pandemic.During the height of the crisis, many MS professionals were redeployed to frontline Covid-19 duties, and therefore were unable to perform their normal roles supporting people with MS. Even since the lockdowns ended, MSSNs remain exceptionally stretched and are often unable to cope with the huge pressure on their services. Indeed, there is simply an insufficient number of MSSNs to enable them to balance high patient caseloads, with a growing portfolio of non-clinical duties and the increasing complexity of administering and monitoring disease modifying treatments.
​
Throughout the pandemic, many people in the MS community were unable to access vital information services and treatments, which could have had an effect on their symptoms and the progression of their MS. Nearly 20% of people with MS who needed to see an MS Nurse in the past year were unable to do so. In response to this unmet need, in April 2020, the MS Nursing Helpline Service was launched to ensure everyone with MS could obtain one-to-one support from a specialist healthcare professional. As a result, in the past year this service has ensured people with MS could receive information and guidance on a range of topics, including treatment options, medication side effects, symptom management and mental health counselling.
​
​
MAKE SENSE OF IT relies solely on sponsorship for our events as well as great support from the MS society.
