A year ago he was lying at home on the sofa. Recharged my energy and waited for my wife and son to come home from work and daycare. He was dependent on the wheelchair on a daily basis. Today he studies, has a social life, the wheelchair is hardly used anymore and he manages to play with the 3-year-old on the floor. – It’s all thanks to the treatment journey. I can say that with one hundred percent certainty, says Elias K. Waaler-Nupen. Around one million people in Norway have muscle, skeletal or rheumatic disease, according to the Norwegian Rheumatism Association. Waaler-Nupen is one of them. He has Bekhterev’s and fibromyalgia. As a result of those illnesses, he also has fatigue. All that works against each other, he says. Ankylosing spondylitis, fibromyalgia and fatigue Ankylosing spondylitis or inflammatory back disease Affects joints in the pelvis, the back, the body’s large joints and tendon attachments. Exercise and physical activity are important to prevent stiffness and incorrect posture. The most prominent features are: inflammation of joints in the back, asymmetric inflammation in one or a few joints, and enthesitis which involves inflammation in places where ligaments or tendons attach ten bones Fibromyalgia A disease where the central symptom is persistent pain in large parts of the muscles of the body. Fatigue A feeling of overwhelming exhaustion that does not improve with sleep or rest. Source: nhi.no Fewer people get the opportunity to take advantage of the offer If you have these diseases, psoriasis, late-onset injuries after polio or ALS, among other things, you can apply for a treatment trip abroad. Mari Øvergaard is general secretary of the Psoriasis and Eczema Association. Photo: Tøri Gjendal / The Psoriasis and Eczema Association These are diagnoses where staying in warmer regions has documented a good effect on the disease, says general secretary of the Psoriasis and Eczema Association, Mari Øvergaard. Last year, treatment trips abroad were cut by NOK 32 million in the state budget. This cut has been maintained in the proposal for next year. This means that fewer patients get access to the treatment offer. The patients have also been without this option throughout much of the corona pandemic. – When you then choose to cut the offer, there are many who are potentially completely without a real treatment offer. We don’t think that’s right in Norway today, says Øvergaard. A significant difference Before the summer, Waaler-Nupen went on her first treatment trip to Tenerife. There was follow-up with a physiotherapist and training every day from morning to afternoon for four weeks. On the first day, he tested how long it took him to get up from a chair ten times, without staying in the chair. He couldn’t do that. On the last day, he went up and down ten times in 25 seconds, without the help of the chair. GOAL: – One of my personal goals was to be able to study, says Elias Waaler-Nupen. He is now studying art and design at the University of Southeast Norway. Photo: Philip Hofgaard / news Avoid becoming disabled Musculoskeletal diseases cost society over NOK 200 billion a year, according to a report by the consulting company Menon Economics from 2019. Bo Gleditsch, secretary general of the Norwegian Rheumatism Association, believes that continuing the cuts in treatment trips until this year state budget, is short-term and narrow-minded. – You don’t see that you are actually not saving at all, but losing. Bo Gleditsch is general secretary of the Norwegian Rheumatism Association. Photo: Thomas Qvale / Tinagent People who need this treatment do so to avoid sick leave or to complete their education. By removing the possibility of treatment travel, more people are unable to work, Gleditsch believes. – We will lose out on that as a society in the long run. Short-term and narrow-minded cuts, and there is only short-term gain. Prioritize hard State Secretary in the Ministry of Health and Care, Ole Henrik Bjørkholt, writes in an e-mail to news that they fully understand that treatment trips abroad are an important supplement. State Secretary in the Ministry of Health and Care, Ole Henrik Bjørkholt. Photo: Synne Lykkebø Hafsaas / news They have therefore continued the money for treatment trips in the proposal for the state budget. – In that budget, we have had to prioritize hard. Among other things, we have chosen to give more to the GP scheme. There has been no room to increase spending on treatment trips abroad. Trapped in his own home, Waaler-Nupen is not healthy, nor will he ever be. But he has gotten better. – Going from feeling almost a little imprisoned in your own house, to being able to be social, go to school, meet new people and feel like you’re doing something. There is quite a big difference, especially psychologically. THE DREAM: Waaler-Nupen is a creative person and hopes that one day he can continue working with art. – My goal is to get back to work. I want to work. Photo: Philip Hofgaard / news
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Elias (39) has rheumatism and risks losing treatment – news Vestfold and Telemark – Local news, TV and radio
