Francy saw her multiple sclerosis diagnosis as an opportunity to create positivity out of adversity.
In her own words, 2020 was the year Francy’s world was turned upside down. But it was also the year she took control.
Mum of three and tennis coach Francy woke up one February morning and realised she’d lost about 70 per cent feeling on her left-hand side below the waist. Within 24 hours the loss of sensation had migrated to her right-hand side.
“I pretty much had no feeling waist-down,” Francy recalls.
“It was almost like I’d had a spinal block. My ability to drive was hindered, my ability to coach was hindered, I was quite off balance, and it was a bit scary.”
She went to hospital and had a series of tests, including bloods, a CT scan, and an MRI. None gave any answers and after about six weeks Francy’s sensation returned. However, that April, she experienced a Lhermitte’s sign, a brief, intense, electric shock-like sensation that travels from the neck and spine, spreading through the torso and limbs.
“This was a sign of MS, but they didn’t have the scans to back it up,” Francy says.
“It took about six months for doctors to diagnose me. I had a follow-up scan that showed lesions on my brain and spine, this time they caught it quite early and that’s why nothing showed up in the initial scans.”
Francy says she felt numb processing her diagnosis.
“I was on the tennis court coaching when I got the news…I had no feeling in my body,” she says. “Three weeks earlier I had gone through a separation, so my world was turned upside down again.”
Francy went home where she struggled to process the life-changing news. “I sat in a dark room with some candles and just struggled to process everything,” she says.
“When I used to think of MS, when I was uneducated about MS, all I knew about the condition was thinking that I was going to end up in a wheelchair.
“Everything I read had a real pessimistic approach to MS and that really affected me. I felt that turning to the internet was the worst thing to do, because everyone’s journey is different.”
Francy decided to stop relying on ‘Dr. Google’ and instead, get educated by arming herself with a medical team to help process and clarify information she was reading. She was also contacted by the MS Society SA & NT with offers of support.
“I realised that MS treatment is so advanced these days,” she says.
“When I educated myself about MS, I regained control, and I turned that adversity into an opportunity.”
She describes the MS Society reaching out to her as a “blessing in disguise”.
“The MS Society came and provided me with all this support I didn’t know existed,” she says.
“They created strength and conditioning plans through physiotherapy and hydrotherapy. I didn’t even know I was entitled to something like that.
“The MS Society became another support network. I know they’re there if I need support… the nurses do regular check-ins.”
Francy realised she wanted to help others.
As a head of female tennis coach at a South Australian school and Tennis Australia club professional coach, combined with her long-time passion for the sport, creating a tennis MS peer support group was an obvious fit, and in 2020 the Break Back program was officially born.
“I felt like I needed a real positive distraction,” Francy says.
“I’m very driven in the sense that I need to find the opportunity in adversity and Break Back was the opportunity out of the MS diagnosis.”
The group meets monthly for on-and-off-court activities and was established to promote both physical activity and social connection. Modified equipment is available to assist participants, which includes those who are in wheelchairs.
“We use the platform of tennis to bring the MS community together and it’s a great way to connect with like-minded individuals, after our sessions we have a social networking session,” Francy says.
“I’ve learnt so much from the players, they turn to me for support, but I find my players so inspiring, and I’ve learnt so much from them. I’m very lucky to have connected with them, they’re like a second family.”
On top of that, each year Francy also organises fundraisers to raise money for the MS Society. In 2023 she hosted a six-hour cardio tennis fundraiser for World MS Day featuring an all-star celebrity line-up, including a video call with Thanasi Kokkinakis’ coach, Todd Langman.
“This fundraiser brought together not only the MS community, but the local community, the sporting community and the tennis community,” Francy says.
The program and Francy have also gained state recognition.
In 2023 Break Back won the Active Inclusion award at the City of Chares Sturt Sport Awards, and just last month was a finalist in the 2024 Tennis SA Awards for Most Outstanding Inclusion Initiative. Francy was also up for a gong in the Active Inclusion category of the Rebel South Australia Sports Awards 2023.
“The ongoing support and relationships we build through our program is the greatest reward,” Francy says.
“It’s great to attend these events, but for me it’s another way to get the Break Back name out into the sporting community.”
As for life moving forward, Francy is excited for her future with her three young daughters.
“MS has made me really re-evaluate life and what’s important,” she says.
Did you know the MS Society has several in-person and online MS Peer Support Groups across South Australia and the Northern Territory? To learn more, contact MS Assist on 1800 812 311 or email msassist@ms.asn.au