A "life-changing" diagnosis of MS in 1999 inspired John Hambly to set up a new therapy centre to improve his own situation and bring support to others living with the condition. Fast-forward 21 years and the Samson Centre for Multiple Sclerosis treats up to 200 people a week and provides 10,000 therapy sessions every year. Following the release of his new memoir Samson Rising, we caught up with John to find out more about his journey with MS and the inspiration behind the Samson Centre.
"It was like everything was in slow motion. I could see his mouth moving and that he was telling me things, but I was completely and utterly stunned." John Hambly remembers the moment his neurologist "dropped the bombshell" that he had MS like it was yesterday. The year was 1999 and John had a young family, a busy career as a partner in a surveying firm and an active lifestyle playing for his local rugby team. But he'd started experiencing "some strange sensations". "It happened for the first time eight years before my diagnosis. I'd run the London Marathon and ended up in a bit of trouble in the last four miles with difficulty lifting my right leg up," John says. This symptom came back again just before he was diagnosed.
Initially doctors thought John had a viral infection of the spinal cord, but when he returned to the hospital, it became apparent John was having a second relapse and MS was diagnosed. He describes it as a "traumatic time." "It really knocked me for six," John remembers. " The first thing I lost was sport. I was coaching at a rugby club and most of my social life was based around that. It felt like the world closed in a bit." John tried to carry on as normal, "but I found it was a difficult balancing act. Because the more I pushed myself, the more MS hit back. I became frustrated because there wasn't much out there at the time in terms of MS nurses or a support network."
It was this frustration that led John to put the wheels in motion for a new support centre for people living with MS. At first he joined a small MS self-help group in Guildford. "We met in a village hall a couple of mornings a week for physio. But it was cold, there was a lack of equipment and it was shared with other groups. I realised that it was really useful, but could be so much better. So I spoke to the physios and asked if we could take it on a stage and get our own premises."
With a background in surveying, John knew how to put a building together, but what he didn't know was how to get the funding to pay for it. "I set off on the journey more in hope than expectation, with faith behind me. My rugby club was instrumental in getting it going. We had a couple of big fundraising events and with that came the belief that we could actually get it off the ground," John says. The dream was to build a dedicated facility where people with MS could have one-to-one physio ("so we could help people who are disabled, like I am now, rather than them feeling like they're just sitting in the background watching others exercise"), as well as a variety of exercise classes, a gym and oxygen therapy.
Against all the odds, John spent the next 17 years, with help from his rugby teammates, charity trustees, family and friends, raising millions of pounds to enable the construction and development of the Samson Centre in Guildford, which now treats up to 200 people a week and offers 10,000 therapy sessions each year.
When John was diagnosed with MS, some health professionals advised against exercise. It was felt that, since many people with MS experienced fatigue and found their symptoms worsened when hot, it was best to avoid activities that could be seen as tiring. Further research has changed that view and regular, moderate exercise is now known to be an important part of maintaining good health and wellbeing for people with MS. John has seen and experienced the positive impact exercise can have first-hand.
"But I think we know now, and I've seen for myself, if you have an early diagnosis and you are still reasonably fit and well, if you can get on to an exercise programme that will keep you moving, it can have such a positive influence. I think sitting around watching telly all day, bemoaning 'I've got MS', that's where the pitfalls are."
The last 21 years have been quite the journey for John and one that's inspired him to put pen to paper and write his memoir. The book is called Samson Rising and details John's childhood growing up in Cornwall, his sports career, the life-changing diagnosis of MS and how that inspired him to follow his dreams and set up the Samson Centre. "I can't believe I've written it," John says. "I'm not an author and the only writing experience I had previously was big lumpy documents to refurbish buildings!" The initial idea for the book came to John while he was in the oxygen chamber at the Samson Centre five years ago.
John wrote the first 10 chapters, "but I put it aside for a while because I thought I was looking at pie in the sky – 'why am I doing this? I'm not an author!'" His friends and family disagreed. "Someone asked me how it was going and I said I stopped because I felt there wasn't a story to tell. He read those chapters and said I don't agree with you. He thought it had a certain style that made the reader feel like they were there with me in the book. So I kept going!"
What does John hope people take away from the book? "I'd like people to realise that whatever life throws at you, you can keep going. Adversity is there in everybody's life at some point, just don't give in and don't be frightened to ask if you need support. Open up your arms and let it in; it's amazing what you can do."
Like many therapy centres, Covid-19 has hit the Samson Centre hard. But John and the team have put plans in place to ensure they can keep going; supporting the MS community post Covid-19 and beyond. Lockdown has given John a lot of time to reflect and he tells me how he thinks MS has changed him as a person. "It sounds paradoxical, but it's brought out a better side of me. I might have been more selfish had all the cards fallen the right way for me. What I've found is that it's made me determined to make a difference for others so they don't have the same helpless feeling I had when I was diagnosed."
Find out more about the Samson Centre.
John's book Samson Rising is available now from a variety of different bookshops, including United Writers, Amazon and Waterstones.
MS Therapy Centres are local charities that provide a range of non-drug therapies for people with multiple sclerosis. Each Therapy Centre will vary in what it offers to people, but they typically include services such as physiotherapy, hyperbaric oxygen therapy, yoga, reflexology, pilates and more. Usually, you do not have to have MS to use the services. MS Therapy Centres often also provide help through drop in sessions or support groups. In some UK regions, MS nurses have their offices and hold clinics in MS Therapy Centres as well. Most, but not all Centres belong to the umbrella group - Multiple Sclerosis National Therapy Centres. MS Therapy Centres across the UK are shown on our searchable Map of MS services.
