It may not sound like a big achievement to many people but, for former marathon runner Lieza Vanden Broeke, being able to run 50m is cause for celebration.
The 30-year-old scientist from Christchurch has multiple sclerosis (MS) and uses her ability to run short distances to measure how well her body is responding to lifestyle changes she's made – and is sharing her ability to live with MS as part of MS Awareness Week*.
She's following a programme called Overcoming Multiple Sclerosis (OMS) and is delighted that she has gone from running 10m on wobbly legs back in January to covering 50m in steady strides in July.
Boyfriend Dan Winder films her runs every three months to monitor her progress on the OMS programme; in the clips, she beams with joy as she achieves what many of us take for granted.
"I don't want MS to control my life, so I am controlling it," says Vanden Broeke, a fiercely determined former marathon runner. "I won't let it define me."
She was diagnosed with the chronic progressive condition, which affects the central nervous system, five years ago at 25, but experienced her first symptom when she was 17. Also a former competitive equestrian, she noticed while taking part in cross country events that, by the end, she couldn't see the jumps clearly.
"I could only see the red and white flags at either end. I knew I had to jump between them, so I would aim for that."
After giving up horse riding, she focused on running and would train with her dad. "I would trip over tree roots quite often and we'd laugh about it," she recalls. "I just thought I was clumsy."
By 2015 she was finding it harder to run. In June that year she took part in the Christchurch Half Marathon with her sister and realised something was wrong: "I couldn't see and I couldn't run straight and my sister had to hold my hand. The officials stopped me and called an ambulance but it was held up, so me being stubborn, I walked the remaining 3km and finished. But it was scary."
After a battery of tests, including an MRI and a spinal tap, Lieza learned she had Primary Progressive MS, which mainly affects the nerves of the spinal cord – hence the difficulty walking – and worsens over time.
"All I knew about MS was that Sarah Potts on Shortland Street had it and dropped cups of coffee. At first I thought, I'm going to end up in a wheelchair. That's my future. But then I decided I was going to live life on my own terms."
"I had no idea what MS was going to mean for me – it affects everyone differently – so I decided I was going to make the most of what I could do."
Vanden Broeke was determined to continue with a PhD in medical physics she had just started, and to travel as much as she could. Over the next few years she visited China, India, Nepal, Sweden, Lithuania and Belgium (where she was born). A year spent working in Hong Kong for her current employer, a Christchurch medical imaging company that makes scanners, was a wonderful experience but the heat there made her MS symptoms, including being unsteady on her feet, worse.
Returning to New Zealand in October last year, she embarked on the OMS programme and has made many lifestyle changes, including meditating and yoga to tackle stress, and taking Vitamin D supplements. She sticks to a mostly vegan diet but includes seafood like salmon.
Exercise is crucial – she goes to the gym three times a week, mostly working out with weights and getting her cardio fix on the rowing machine. According to her Fitbit, she walks about 5km a day around the University of Canterbury, where her job is based.
"There are so many things I have been able to do that I never thought I would, such as finishing my PhD in three years and working in Hong Kong for a year. I was told about things I could expect like brain fog, but I can't afford to have that with the career I have, so I've done my best to make sure they don't happen," says Vanden Broeke. "OMS is definitely working and I feel great.
"I'd like other people diagnosed with MS to know that you can have a good life after diagnosis. You can still do what you want if you put your mind to it and stay positive. It's important to surround yourself with positive people – I've got great support from family and friends. Don't worry what anyone else might think if you walk funny – just take each day at a time.
"I do sometimes think, 'why me'? But having MS has made me appreciate little things in life a lot more, like when I can do things without getting too tired. I am in awe of my body and what it can do."
Vanden Broeke would like to be able to run for longer distances, and is keen to one day take part in a 5km event. "It's not a marathon but 5km is enough for me. I'd be stoked if I could do that."
On average, MS organisations across the country must raise over 90 per cent of funds from the community to provide information, advocacy and support services to people like Vanden Broeke. For the second year running, MS Awareness Week has been impacted by Covid-19, with many of the 18 regional societies having to cancel street appeals and events.
"With numbers of people being diagnosed with MS and needing support increasing, so is demand for our services," says MSNZ National Manager Amanda Rose. "We ask New Zealanders to please give whatever they can to help us continue to provide a range of support and services that help New Zealanders impacted by MS live well."
Without that, Rose says many areas may need to reduce the level of service they can provide, including support to people who may be coming to terms with their new diagnosis, experiencing a relapse or progression, stopping treatment or requiring an advocate to access community services.
"One of our recent successes – extending the length of time people with MS can stay on treatment – took seven hard, long years of work. Now over 1900 New Zealanders currently on treatment, and those yet to be diagnosed, will have better opportunities for long-term brain and health outcomes. *MS Awareness Week runs from September 13-19 and donations can be made to the MS organisation of your choice here