Photo from Romania

Turda, Romania, 11/2011 • Dan Chirvai recalls how the intention tremors associated with MS threatened to get in the way of romance while courting his wife Erika, “Each time I wanted to kiss her, I started laughing – uncontrollably. It is the same with all my emotions now: I can’t control them. When I am happy, I laugh and when I am sad, I cry. Uncontrollably.” Credit: Fernando Moleres
Oradea, Romania, 11/2011 • As a young woman, Lenųta Covăşdan was known for being fun and outgoing, and for having many boyfriends. She had always been athletic, playing handball and other sports in school, and remained active after her children were born. “Then I started having sight problems, fatigue and balance problems.” At 31, everything changed: shortly after being diagnosed with MS, she was completely bed-ridden, unable even to care for her own small children. Credit: Fernando Moleres
Alba Iulia, Romania, 11/2011 • Romania was under Soviet control when Florin Clortea first noticed his left foot sometimes became paralysed. Doctors were poorly educated and hospitals had few diagnostic tools. The first suggestion that it might linked to MS came from the father of his girlfriend at the time, a neurologist who quickly went on to explain there was no way to confirm his suspicion and little help or hope he could offer. “I began to read, and inform and prepare myself, believing that one day, som
Alba Iulia, Romania, 11/2011 • “My wife and my family treat me like a normal, without-MS person. They don’t protect me,” says Florin Clortea. “Once, I asked my wife to buy me some new shoes, without laces so they would be easier to put on. She bought me shoes with laces so I would have to keep working at being normal. But she also helps me tie them when I can’t.” Credit: Fernando Moleres
Alba Iulia, Romania, 11/2011 • Florin Clortea suffered his first MS symptoms in the mid-1980s, around the same time magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) became a recognised diagnostic tool. It took 15 years for the technology to reach Romania, where it was offered only by private clinics. At a time when executive salaries were €300/mo., Florin (a public servant) paid €500 for an exam. Now suffering paralysis on much of his left side, Florin remains focused on ability, not disability: “I can walk with one leg; I
Oradea, Romania, 11/2011 • Against the colourful clothes of others on the bus, black clothes identify Lenųta Covăşdan as being in the year of mourning after the death of her husband. When bed-ridden with MS, she asked her husband to take the children and leave. He was shocked and reminded her of the “for better or worse” part of their vows. “We were together when it was better,” he said, “And now, when it’s bad, you expect me to leave?” He stayed for another 30 years. Credit: Fernando Moleres
Oradea, Romania, 11/2011 • Two mornings per week, Lenųta Covăşdan takes a bus 15 km from home town to Oradea, switches to a tram and walks the last few blocks to the MS Centre. The trip takes about an hour each way. Although she uses a cane, she is thrilled to be able to walk at all. In the early days, MS left her almost completely paralysed for several months. Credit: Fernando Moleres
Oradea, Romania, 11/2011 • A group physiotherapy class at the MS Centre focuses on flexibility and balance. Lenųta Covăşdan credits two people with convincing her that, even with MS, living was worthwhile. “My husband literally saved my life on two occasions. My priest changed my life: he told me God had allowed this disease to be in my life so I could trust him more and help others. This is what makes me happy now; helping others.” Credit: Fernando Moleres
Oradea, Romania, 11/2011 • A group physiotherapy class at the MS Centre focuses on flexibility and balance. Lenųta Covăşdan credits two people with convincing her that, even with MS, living was worthwhile. “My husband literally saved my life on two occasions. My priest changed my life: he told me God had allowed this disease to be in my life so I could trust him more and help others. This is what makes me happy now; helping others.” Credit: Fernando Moleres
Oradea, Romania, 11/2011 • Exercising on a stationary bike is perfect for Lenųta Covăşdan. She was very athletic as a young woman, but now has almost no feeling in her feet and legs. “When I walk, my impression is always that I’m going straight ahead, but my brain and my body are not working together. I never really know where my feet are going.” Having lived through paralysis, cognitive problems and severe depression, she sees herself as a motherly figure to younger PwMS. Credit: Fernando Moleres
Oradea, Romania, 11/2011 • Cristian Bunda (40) boards a plane in Oradea (Romania) to undergo an MS therapy offered only in Serbia. In 2006, the European Commission implemented a comprehensive regulation (EC 1107/2006) related to barrier-free travel for persons with disabilities. A further Directive (11038/2/2010; adopted in January 2011) upholds the right of EU citizens to seek medical treatment in a country other than their own, and to be reimbursed for all costs incurred. Credit: Fernando Moleres
Bucarest, Romania, 11/2011 • Christian Bunda was diagnosed with MS only XX years ago; his case is aggressive and his disability is advancing quickly. He waits in a special area in the Bucharest airport before travelling outside of Romania to take treatment at a health spa specialising in MS. Just one day previous, his neurologist confirmed that his MRI showed many more lesions than expected. Credit: Fernando Moleres
Turda, Romania, 11/2011 • Dan Chirvai, a PwMS, pushes his wife Erika, a paraplegic, up the ramp to their apartment. Both receive disability pensions from the Romanian government, but little assistance for adapting their home. The ramp was installed by members of their Parish. Credit: Fernando Moleres
Turda, Romania, 11/2011 • Fingerprints on the walls attest to Dan Chirvai’s poor balance, yet he insists that his condition has improved since he was diagnosed in 2002. “My first symptom that I felt dizzy and couldn’t see clearly with my left eye. Then I began to get tremors: my legs, my hands, my head – everything was shaking all the time. I had to stop working, stop doing everything.” Credit: Fernando Moleres
Turda, Romania, 11/2011 • Faith is very important to Dan and Erika Chirvai. When diagnosed with MS at age 27, Dan thought his chances of getting married were gone. He and Erika met at a rehabilitation centre and agreed their friendship and mutual understanding of disability could be a good foundation for marriage. Credit: Fernando Moleres
Turda, Romania, 11/2011 • Before being diagnosed with MS in 2002, Dan Chirvai was often on the move. Severe tremors forced him to leave his job as a truck driver; for a few years, he was able to keep working as a salesman. Now on full disability pension, he often seeks calmness in the serenity of his local parish. Credit: Fernando Moleres
Turda, Romania, 11/2011 • “Faith is very important to us,” says Erika Chirvai. “Dan and I believe that God brought us together and made our union possible.” She is deeply grateful for how their marriage changed her life. Paralysed from the waist down since age 13, she lived for many years with a sister who worked and went out a lot. Erika was trapped in the flat most of the time. Despite struggling with MS, Dan was eager to take her out and show her the world.. Credit: Fernando Moleres
Turda, Romania, 11/2011 • “I began seriously looking for a wife in 2002,” says Dan Chirvai. “I was diagnosed with MS in the same year. My tremors were so bad – my hands, my legs, my head shook all the time – I thought I would have to give up on finding a wife.” He met Erika at the rehabilitation centre and was married one year later. They do almost everything together, including taking a nap when Dan becomes fatigued from MS. Credit: Fernando Moleres
Turda, Romania, 11/2011 • Dan and Erika Chirvai challenge societal stereotypes about MS. Erika is in a wheelchair because a poorly executed surgery left her paraplegic at age 13. Dan has had MS for 10 years; he often suffers severe tremors, but can walk long enough to do the shopping and other errands. Both on full disability pension, they do almost everything together, each contributing what they can do best. Credit: Fernando Moleres
Turda, Romania, 11/2011 • The rolling landscape in Romania provides beautiful views of cities and towns that are remarkable for their individuality. There is a saying that no two houses are the same in Romania – each is built to fit the needs of the family who will live in it. But few buildings have been modified to provide access to disabled persons. Credit: Fernando Moleres
Photographer: 
Fernando Moleres

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