The Grey Stuff Taking up Space in My Skull

When I ungracefully upended myself for the ‘nth’ time I considered a helmet more appropriate than the woolly hat received as a Christmas gift. The snow and ice made travelling horrendous for everyone in December but add to the hazard of slippery streets a tendency to lose your balance and we’re getting into a whole other dimension of injuries.

It got me thinking about the material in my skull, the millions of nerves so delicately encased in my spine and how easy it would be to damage the fundamental messaging system which controls every aspect of my being (all this thinking with the very same stuff I was thinking about…thoughtful tangent-mental bliss).

Neurology is the branch of medicine that deals with the nervous system. Disorders of this system are usually referred to as neurological conditions and they can affect each and every aspect of the body. Movement, thought processes, emotions, speech, expression and other aspects of life can be affected.  Many of us are familiar with Alzheimer’s disease, Epilepsy, Motor Neurone disease, Multiple Sclerosis, Strokes and Acquired Brain Injury but might not have realised that they all affect the same part of the body- the nervous system.

So, why is this important? Its important because 700,000 people in Ireland have a neurological condition. Add the number of friends, family and colleagues and it turns out most of us are, or know someone, affected. Services for people with neurological conditions have historically never been top of the priority list in terms of medical care. Ireland has just 23 neurologists, significantly below the 42 (1 per 100,000 people) recommended for our population and way behind our European colleagues.  Waiting for diagnosis is a traumatic time, made all the more difficult if there is a wait of up two years to see a neurologist.

Since 1998 the Neurological Alliance of Ireland (NAI) has been the umbrella organisation representing people affected by neurological conditions. The NAI and partner organisations are calling for the Government to “Think Ahead” and implement a national strategy for neurological care to get Ireland’s system up-to-date.  Unless the Health Service Executive (HSE) commit to the development of services for the other 44,000 people who are diagnosed each year, people with neurological conditions will continue to lose out. With VOTE FOR THINKING AHEAD the NAI wants to prevent any reductions in medical care, to protect access to care and non-statutory organisations that provide support and advocacy for thousands of people affected.

There are plenty of other things on our minds right now, in fact we’ve thought of hundreds in the last few seconds from wanting another cup of tea, calling a friend, financial concerns, unemployment, emigration, sunny days, fun in the sun- the combinations are endless! One thing to keep in mind when venturing out (ice, snow, wandering in the hills) is to take precautions and responsibility. Its only when something bad happens, neurologically speaking, that the care of the grey matter and the body become a priority.

Please sign the NAI petition today http://www.nai.ie.

Your brain…it does so much more than take up space…

Thanks to Mags Rogers from the Neurological Alliance of Ireland.

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