Patient Contributor

Willeke van Eeckhoutte

Willeke Van Eeckhoutte is a writer and voluntary disability awareness advocate who made Ireland her home in 2002.

Overview

Living With Condition
15 Years
Published
14 Articles
Location
Clonsilla, Ireland

After retiring from work, she began writing as an exercise in optimism and to highlight what life with an invisible illness is like. She is a qualified library assistant and counsellor and currently studies online Advanced Cognitive Behavioural Therapy in order to quell her love for psychology. Unless hiding in books or under the duvet, you can find her writing in Starbucks. 

A brief history with the condition

MS arrived on my doorstep carrying a suitcase full of excruciating trigeminal neuralgia and unrelenting fatigue 2,5 years after moving to Ireland. Life turned into an uphill battle with symptoms like chronic neuropathic pain, but after retiring from work, I now realise it has been the wisest decision I could have ever made in relation to my illness. With a combination of traditional and holistic treatment that are sometimes trial and error, I nevertheless am more philosophical, optimistic and in love with life.”

UK/MED/18/0284 October 2019

Published Articles

Skipping a Beat: Knowing When My Heart Needs TLC
3 mins
article
Willeke van Eeckhoutte

Skipping a Beat: Knowing When My Heart Needs TLC

Not All in Your Head: MS, Medical Trauma, and PTSD
4 mins
article
Willeke van Eeckhoutte

Not All in Your Head: MS, Medical Trauma, and PTSD

Multiple Sclerosis and "Out of the Blue" Anger
3 mins
article
Willeke van Eeckhoutte

Multiple Sclerosis and "Out of the Blue" Anger

This is My Spinal Tap: Music, MS, and Some Help from U2
5 mins
article
Willeke van Eeckhoutte

This is My Spinal Tap: Music, MS, and Some Help from U2

Not on the Hunt: Dating, MS and Me
4 mins
article
Willeke van Eeckhoutte

Not on the Hunt: Dating, MS and Me

Living with MS and the Risk of Heart Disease
3 mins
article
Willeke van Eeckhoutte

Living with MS and the Risk of Heart Disease

Finding the Funny Side of Life with MS
3 mins
article
Willeke van Eeckhoutte

Finding the Funny Side of Life with MS

How MS Influenced My Decision Whether or Not to Have Children
3 mins
article
Willeke van Eeckhoutte

How MS Influenced My Decision Whether or Not to Have Children

How Body-Shaming Hurts People Who Live With Disabilities
4 mins
article
Willeke van Eeckhoutte

How Body-Shaming Hurts People Who Live With Disabilities

Life Before and After MS: I Am Still the Same Me
3 mins
article
Willeke van Eeckhoutte

Life Before and After MS: I Am Still the Same Me

Vertigo and MS: When the Earth Moves Under Your Feet
4 mins
article
Willeke van Eeckhoutte

Vertigo and MS: When the Earth Moves Under Your Feet

Hyperacusis and MS: When Its More Than "Just Noise"
3 mins
article
Willeke van Eeckhoutte

Hyperacusis and MS: When Its More Than "Just Noise"

MS and Cognitive Dysfunction: Facing the Issue Head-On
4 mins
article
Willeke van Eeckhoutte

MS and Cognitive Dysfunction: Facing the Issue Head-On

My MS Moment: Struck by Lightning or a New Beginning?
3 mins
article
Willeke van Eeckhoutte

My MS Moment: Struck by Lightning or a New Beginning?