Rania Melhem
"Keeping up the fight for MS"
“Sorry, you have MS” was how nineteen-year-old Rania was diagnosed with the most common chronic neurological disease of young Australians. Reflecting on symptoms ranging from migraines, dizziness and numbness, she didn't cry but rather reach to to comfort her mother, who now had two daughters diagnosed with this “invisible illness” – multiple sclerosis.
From that moment on, she vowed to always stay “positive” to lessen her mother’s heartache and pain. Her symptoms first appeared while Rania was studying her Bachelor of Communications and Public Relations degree at Monash University, but she lived many years in denial. A self-confessed control freak, Rania reached many milestones around the time of her diagnosis. Leaving her teens, trying to feel like a grown up, learning to self-inject medication, crying about her diagnosis for the first time and feeling so much loss of control.
Each MS relapse, although challenging, seems to only make her feel stronger and wiser. Having now accepted what life has handed her, and proud of her career achievements, Rania currently working for a large bank. With the devoted support of her husband, family and MS community, Rania may keep getting knocked down by this disease, but always gets back up and keeps fighting. This stoic woman keeps fighting for her sister, for her mum, for her husband and family, and advocates on behalf of all Australians living with MS.
The MS Ambassador program is proud to have Rania as part of our team, and we high recommend her as an excellent communicator and effective public speaker, who will share with you how to keep up the good fight.
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