Christo Balabanov

Country: Bulgaria
Age: 49
Profession: Mechanical engineer
Type of MS: Secondary progressive
Year of diagnosis: 1991

How Multiple Sclerosis changed my life
(What I gained and lost from MS)

My name is Christo Balabanov. I am 49 years old and a mechanical engineer. I work for the biggest Ford dealership in Bulgaria.

Everything connected to this incurable and unpredictable disease started in 1991. I used to play sports all of the time and was surprised to find that I got tired quickly and began to fall when I was skiing. I decided I wasn’t in good shape and began to train more intensively with more jogging and bodybuilding exercises. To my surprise, everything worsened and I lost 100 percent of the sight in my right eye. It was then that I decided to see a doctor.

At that time there was no MRI in Bulgaria so they carried out a lumbar puncture. The diagnosis was multiple sclerosis (MS).

After taking a short course of corticosteroid treatment, I fully recovered my sight and was able to walk again; I also regained the strength in my arms and legs. I told myself, with a smile, that it wasn’t so bad and I was determined not to give up. I had a family and I couldn’t imagine myself lying ill in bed. It was the thought of giving up that drove me crazy, rather than the MS.

1991 was also the year that Bulgaria took its first steps towards a new style of government. International companies, mainly from Western Europe and the USA started to enter the Bulgarian market. The companies offered the country new possibilities; the way they worked was completely different to that which we were used to under the socialist government. Further opportunities were opened up to me when I obtained an English Language diploma from the Pitman Institute, Cambridge.

I applied for work in many companies and received a positive response from Moto-Pfohe GmbH, Bulgaria’s official Ford car importer. I began selling cars in June 1993. It was hard to start with but the team of people I worked with soon helped me to settle in and cope with the workload. Also, my diploma and ten years’ professional experience as a mechanical engineer added important aspects to my abilities and skills.

It was great to work for a team where the manager led by example, showing us how problems should be solved. I really enjoyed the daily contact I had with customers and it was a pleasure for me to send a satisfied customer on their way. Indeed the company’s motto became, ‘The customer is number one'. Since those early days the company has grown substantially and now there are more than 600 employees. To think we began seated at two desks!

During this time my MS, due to the chronic nature of the disease, did not stay away. In fact, it began to show itself more and more. I blocked it from my mind and my thoughts but it still affected my body. In 1995 I experienced almost constant relapses and the doctors advised me to start on interferon treatment. At the time this wasn’t a very popular treatment in Bulgaria and it was very expensive (1800 DM per month – approximately €1000). I couldn’t afford it so I sent a request to the company owner in Germany. I had almost forgotten about it when, two months later, the company manager called me into his office, apologised for the delay and pointed to a large thermos bag on his desk. The bag contained three months’ supply of interferon and was followed three months later by another. I started on a course of injections every second day and it was like a miracle, the relapses stopped and I recovered physically. However, after six months I had to stop the treatment as my body began to react badly to the interferon.

Although I had to stop selling cars, due to the difficulty I had in walking, I continued to work for the company in the warranties office. The fact that my company had not let me go due to my MS really motivated me. My disease developed slowly but I haven’t given up. My family, friends and work colleagues have made it possible for me to continue by forming a shield around me, a bit like an internet firewall, and I feel safe and protected.

In 1999, I started to attend and participate in conferences organised by the European MS Platform (EMSP). They provided me with information and support and I became one of the founders of the MS Society Bulgaria Foundation. In Bulgaria, people with MS are treated similarly to anyone with a disability. There are many problems with the National Health Insurance Fund and there is a lack of technical support, wheelchairs and walking aids.