Elisabeth Golding

Elisabeth was born on 13 February 1952. She married John in 1973 and is a mother of five. Elisabeth cares for her husband John, who has had MS for the past 21 years. She also cares for Bodil Lønn, a 75-year-old lady with MS in her local MS branch of Fredrikstad.

Elisabeth was the manager for the Norwegian Catholic Study and Conference Centre in the Oslo diocese when John was diagnosed with MS in 1987. John continued as a senior executive in Volvo at a national and international level until 1997, but he was rapidly deteriorating and was wheelchair-bound in 1992. That same year Elisabeth gave up her career to become John’s personal assistant and caregiver as he was dependant on this to continue his career and many other involvements. John is dependent on her care and help in order to carry out his daily functions.

Elisabeth has also been caregiver for the past 6 years to another person with MS, Mrs. Bodil Lønn. Several times a week she goes to the nursing home where Bodil resides and tends to her needs and activities including excursions and part-time engagements.

Elisabeth helped John to participate as an MSIF Board member for eight years and as Chairman of the Persons with MS International Committee for four years. John is also currently Vice President of the European MS Platform and board member of the Norwegian MS Society and Elisabeth accompanies and assists him in his endeavours. Johns needs her assistance at all levels and she has enabled him to take up and carry out his many MS-led activities and other responsibilities. John would never have been able to carry out his commitments without Elisabeth’s unconditional love and assistance.

Elisabeth also carries out MS support work in her own right, offering her assistance and advice to many people with MS and their caregivers.
She has been a peer and contact point for MS caregivers in her local branch for many years and is also its Vice Chair. She has, for many years, led the finance committee of her branch and has been the main fundraiser. At a national level she is a volunteer on the telephone helpline.

Elisabeth’s unstinting devotion has helped many people with MS and their families to cope better with their illness and has helped many caregivers to help improve the quality of life of people with MS.

Elisabeth gave up her own professional career to dedicate herself to her husband and many other people affected by MS. Her positive good nature has also brought some sunshine into the life of many people with MS. Her dedication to the MS world has been, in our opinion, unique.

For the past seven years Elisabeth and John have made many presentations on the subject of MS and sexuality both at local, national and international level. This includes presentations and lectures for newly diagnosed people with MS and their partners at the regional hospital and at the national MS rehabilitation centre. Elisabeth and John have also opened their home at weekends to MS couples seeking advice on partnership and sexuality.

Elisabeth has committed her life to assist people with MS and their caregivers and has thus in an unselfish way dedicated her time and energy to MS.

Additional testimony:

"I first met Elisabeth in the nineties at the meetings of the Fredrikstad MS branch, where my family has been members for many years.

My mother is 75 years old; she has had MS for approximately 40 years. She uses a wheelchair and has lived in a nursing home for the past two and a half years. Mother is very sociable and wants to participate both in the MS society branch and in many other societies and associations. When my father’s health deteriorated extensively at the end of the 1990s he was no longer able to either care for her or take her out on her many activities. Elisabeth then began to drop in to see my mother to have a chat, and take her out to different things. This meant a lot for mother in what was a difficult situation.

We asked the local council for part-time social worker support for mother and it was granted about six years ago. We did not ask Elisabeth to carry out this job, since her husband John also has MS and we knew that she had lots to do.

Elisabeth got to hear about our request, and said she could take on that task. Mother, and us other family members, were delighted about this.

Elisabeth has a lot of know-how both about MS and interpersonal relations. She has a great stamina for work, and carries out what she has begun. She has an incredible capacity to help others, is very involved and is always straightforward and clear so one always knows where she is coming from.

Elisabeth takes mother to town, on tours to our cabin, to church, to the physiotherapist, to society meetings and to MS fundraising activities. She drops in regularly to see her and massage her legs and lots more. She turns up in the evenings and at weekends without counting the hours. We consider Elisabeth to be more like a friend than a social worker."

Inger Lønn Lervang (daughter of Bodil Lønn)

2008 Nominations

The judges of the award would like to express their thanks, admiration and support to all the nominees:

Peter East, Australia
Hélène Possoz, Belgium
Mary Ellen Tabor, Canada
Annick Brunet, France
Breda O'Gorman, Ireland
Noel Fisher, New Zealand
Vincent Durkaj, Slovakia
Clara López Aurrekoetxea, Spain
Vanita Oelschlager, USA