For patients under my care, please don't panic. We will process your cases one by one and then set up a follow-up plan. Either a referral back to your local team, a transfer to one of my colleagues, or you will simply stay in my clinic, which will be taken over later this year by a close colleague. I am not physically leaving and will still be seeing trial subjects at the Royal London Hospital.
The second bus is a good choice! You are too engaged and knowledgeable to retire completely and you still have much to give. Let us know what we can do to help you tackle MS prevention via IM treatment or EBV immunisation
Gavin, this life is not a dress rehearsal. Do what is right for you, and please allow your self to be selfish in deciding how to spend your twighlight years. I think all of us MSrs are eternally great full of the compassion, research, knowledge and passion that you've put into this shitshow of a condition.
We are all admirable of your want to continue working on this conundrum past your retirement and despite your health issues. However, please know that you would not be letting down or disappointing us if you were to stop it all.
Perhaps one day there'll be a preventative vaccine and/or a cure. Your work will outlive you in this field of this we can be sure.
I wouldn't want you to miss out on the time you have with this conundrum engulfing you.
I met you at an ANZAN conference and have become an MS neurologist more significantly since 4-7-2016. With MS now in my family, and all these patients I have, your eating, drinking and sleeping MS has been an inspiration and has become part of my deeper interest in neurology. Your disruptive MS Selfie is just what every sub-specialty of neurology needs. Orson Welles asked how he came to make such a unique first film, said that was easy to answer: "Ignorance. I didn't know what was not possible." Your insight into medical gaslighting applies to Parkinson's and neuropathy. We need to try harder, push harder, dare to treat, and change therapy. The second bus has the best view and you'll help the most worthwhile fellow passengers. Congratulations, best wishes for continued good health. RG
Your own health and wellbeing must be your priority. You have served MS patients so well. You have given us hope. Your research work WILL be successful. Let another neurologist take up your clinical treatment baton.
I will be forever grateful to you for your support for MS patients and pushing for early, aggressive treatment. You have saved so many young people from the permanent disability experienced by older generations of MS patients. And your EBV theory has been proved right. A prophet is never recognised in his own country. Fellow neurologists may have been slow to follow your lead, But MS patients have recognised you and will be forever grateful to you.
What a loss, but totally understandable. There comes a time where you have to let go and allow others to take over. So glad to hear that you will still be involved in research. Enjoy the new challenge and thank you for all of your advice which I have passed on to my neurologist. You have certainly empowered me to look after myself and provided me with the language and knowledge to allow me to discuss different approaches/medication.
Prof. G, you are a true icon in MS universe. Throgh the years you have contributed to shaping the MS practice all around the world. Your insights and perspective are always ahead of time and you have coined a lot of the expressions and terms that are used in the MS scientific community. It is crucial for MS practice that you keep doing what you do, so whatever you do next, you must put into consideration that a lot of MS practitioners around the world look up to you, and wait to hear what you think about practice issues. There must be a way to maintain your mentorship, whether through lectures, review or opinion articles, perhaps a podcast or youtube channel dedicated to HCPs. We need Prof. G as long as we can have him. Wishing you the best.
I am very excited and happy for you - well done and congratulations!
I work at an academic medical institution and the bus you’ve chosen to take is one I’ve seen many colleagues find great joy and tremendous life satisfaction taking.
In my opinion, this is a fabulous road trip you & your bus are embarking on.
On a selfish note, your MS prevention and EBV focus is critical work. My academic/research/clinic neurologist said this (the EBV & symptomatic mono part) to me at my first clinic visit with him after diagnosis of MS and written about this for years. The time to move it all forward dramatically is right & you are the one who is so equipped to do it!
Thank you for every single thing you are doing. Keep the oxygen mask on yourself first…. :-)
I’m not surprised you are stepping back from clinical work. The overload on Doctors / consultants makes practice more and more at risk of being unsafe, for both Clinicians and patients. Who wants this responsibility ? I wonder what the NHS will look like in 4 years? I’m hoping not just ashes from the past decade of austerity.
You’ve given so much to the MS community, time to give more to yourself and family.
If you do any live webinars I’d be interested. Whatever you offer is a source of support and greatly appreciated.
Four days a week is hardly retiring. And while your MS-selfie audience might not benefit from your focus on prevention, I believe it is the way healthcare needs to go.
As a fellow melanoma patient- thankfully early stage - I wish you the best. It is hard not enjoying the sun in quite the same way.
Thank you for all you do and for keeping the professional healthcare standard held high
Congrats, Professor G. While not really a retirement, it sounds like you're making a wise decision about how to spend your time. I personally got mono when I was 17, and I never felt the same afterwards, even if it took another nineteen years to be diagnosed with MS. It's both vindicating and sad that MS can develop so easily in susceptible people. I'm sure your contribution will be substantial!
It's hard to imagine MS-selfie without you, perhaps you would consider posting as a guest once in a while?
Thank you for everything you've done to help, educate, and empower us through MS-selfie. Best wishes for your health and in your future endeavors.
As someone who received treatment with Alemtuzumab thanks to stumbling across a YouTube vid of you discussing it, resulting in my fighting to have it, I will always be eternally grateful to you. One of many thousands, if not millions, I’m sure!
Making a decision that is in your own best interests and yet still is of benefit to the MS community, both current and future, is testimony to the man you are.
For so many of us you’ve been a comfort blanket/ safety net because we’ve been able to rely on your expertise and proactive stance and interventions. So, if I’m truly honest with myself there’s a sense of bereavement and anxiety attached to you potentially stepping back from the microsite as well, especially without the confidence there is someone like you waiting in the wings to pick up where you leave off.
There is equally a sense that few merit as much as you do implementation of a plan to move away from a working remit as it stands. As with everyone else, I really wish you the very best in the next phase of your life, both working and personal.
Sorry to hear about this Professor Giovannoni. I just wanted to say that as someone newly diagnosed two years ago your work and MS Selfie has made a massive impact on me and made me feel well armed to understand ms and various aspects to it. Your efforts are much appreciated and as someone who works in a different side of academia myself where we can all feel overwhelmed (I can only imagine how much worst it is for clinical and research colleagues in your field) all your work and efforts from a patient perspective have made a real difference to lives. Thank you. Thomas Leahy
Well done for making such a great decision. Life must always come first, and family and outside interests help to keep us happy and content with our lives. All work and no play makes Jack a very sad boy. Joy must be a part of life. That said I’m super happy that you are keeping MS Selfie going. I’m also very happy that your focus around EBV is continuing and the potentials a vaccine might create towards stopping MS.
For patients under my care, please don't panic. We will process your cases one by one and then set up a follow-up plan. Either a referral back to your local team, a transfer to one of my colleagues, or you will simply stay in my clinic, which will be taken over later this year by a close colleague. I am not physically leaving and will still be seeing trial subjects at the Royal London Hospital.
The second bus is a good choice! You are too engaged and knowledgeable to retire completely and you still have much to give. Let us know what we can do to help you tackle MS prevention via IM treatment or EBV immunisation
Yes, second this!
Gavin, this life is not a dress rehearsal. Do what is right for you, and please allow your self to be selfish in deciding how to spend your twighlight years. I think all of us MSrs are eternally great full of the compassion, research, knowledge and passion that you've put into this shitshow of a condition.
We are all admirable of your want to continue working on this conundrum past your retirement and despite your health issues. However, please know that you would not be letting down or disappointing us if you were to stop it all.
Perhaps one day there'll be a preventative vaccine and/or a cure. Your work will outlive you in this field of this we can be sure.
I wouldn't want you to miss out on the time you have with this conundrum engulfing you.
Life is far too short for that.
I met you at an ANZAN conference and have become an MS neurologist more significantly since 4-7-2016. With MS now in my family, and all these patients I have, your eating, drinking and sleeping MS has been an inspiration and has become part of my deeper interest in neurology. Your disruptive MS Selfie is just what every sub-specialty of neurology needs. Orson Welles asked how he came to make such a unique first film, said that was easy to answer: "Ignorance. I didn't know what was not possible." Your insight into medical gaslighting applies to Parkinson's and neuropathy. We need to try harder, push harder, dare to treat, and change therapy. The second bus has the best view and you'll help the most worthwhile fellow passengers. Congratulations, best wishes for continued good health. RG
Your own health and wellbeing must be your priority. You have served MS patients so well. You have given us hope. Your research work WILL be successful. Let another neurologist take up your clinical treatment baton.
I will be forever grateful to you for your support for MS patients and pushing for early, aggressive treatment. You have saved so many young people from the permanent disability experienced by older generations of MS patients. And your EBV theory has been proved right. A prophet is never recognised in his own country. Fellow neurologists may have been slow to follow your lead, But MS patients have recognised you and will be forever grateful to you.
Thankyou, thankyou, thankyou.
What a loss, but totally understandable. There comes a time where you have to let go and allow others to take over. So glad to hear that you will still be involved in research. Enjoy the new challenge and thank you for all of your advice which I have passed on to my neurologist. You have certainly empowered me to look after myself and provided me with the language and knowledge to allow me to discuss different approaches/medication.
Prof. G, you are a true icon in MS universe. Throgh the years you have contributed to shaping the MS practice all around the world. Your insights and perspective are always ahead of time and you have coined a lot of the expressions and terms that are used in the MS scientific community. It is crucial for MS practice that you keep doing what you do, so whatever you do next, you must put into consideration that a lot of MS practitioners around the world look up to you, and wait to hear what you think about practice issues. There must be a way to maintain your mentorship, whether through lectures, review or opinion articles, perhaps a podcast or youtube channel dedicated to HCPs. We need Prof. G as long as we can have him. Wishing you the best.
I am very excited and happy for you - well done and congratulations!
I work at an academic medical institution and the bus you’ve chosen to take is one I’ve seen many colleagues find great joy and tremendous life satisfaction taking.
In my opinion, this is a fabulous road trip you & your bus are embarking on.
On a selfish note, your MS prevention and EBV focus is critical work. My academic/research/clinic neurologist said this (the EBV & symptomatic mono part) to me at my first clinic visit with him after diagnosis of MS and written about this for years. The time to move it all forward dramatically is right & you are the one who is so equipped to do it!
Thank you for every single thing you are doing. Keep the oxygen mask on yourself first…. :-)
Hey Gavin
Thanks for your honest post and wish you well with your next career move.
I’m not surprised you are stepping back from clinical work. The overload on Doctors / consultants makes practice more and more at risk of being unsafe, for both Clinicians and patients. Who wants this responsibility ? I wonder what the NHS will look like in 4 years? I’m hoping not just ashes from the past decade of austerity.
You’ve given so much to the MS community, time to give more to yourself and family.
If you do any live webinars I’d be interested. Whatever you offer is a source of support and greatly appreciated.
Wishing you all the best Prof
Four days a week is hardly retiring. And while your MS-selfie audience might not benefit from your focus on prevention, I believe it is the way healthcare needs to go.
As a fellow melanoma patient- thankfully early stage - I wish you the best. It is hard not enjoying the sun in quite the same way.
Thank you for all you do and for keeping the professional healthcare standard held high
This sounds very reasonable and, quite frankly, exciting. Best of luck in making it all happen. Thank you for all you do.
Congrats, Professor G. While not really a retirement, it sounds like you're making a wise decision about how to spend your time. I personally got mono when I was 17, and I never felt the same afterwards, even if it took another nineteen years to be diagnosed with MS. It's both vindicating and sad that MS can develop so easily in susceptible people. I'm sure your contribution will be substantial!
It's hard to imagine MS-selfie without you, perhaps you would consider posting as a guest once in a while?
Thank you for everything you've done to help, educate, and empower us through MS-selfie. Best wishes for your health and in your future endeavors.
Guest posts are an excellent idea!
As someone who received treatment with Alemtuzumab thanks to stumbling across a YouTube vid of you discussing it, resulting in my fighting to have it, I will always be eternally grateful to you. One of many thousands, if not millions, I’m sure!
Making a decision that is in your own best interests and yet still is of benefit to the MS community, both current and future, is testimony to the man you are.
For so many of us you’ve been a comfort blanket/ safety net because we’ve been able to rely on your expertise and proactive stance and interventions. So, if I’m truly honest with myself there’s a sense of bereavement and anxiety attached to you potentially stepping back from the microsite as well, especially without the confidence there is someone like you waiting in the wings to pick up where you leave off.
There is equally a sense that few merit as much as you do implementation of a plan to move away from a working remit as it stands. As with everyone else, I really wish you the very best in the next phase of your life, both working and personal.
Take care of yourself ProfG - you deserve it!
Sorry to hear about this Professor Giovannoni. I just wanted to say that as someone newly diagnosed two years ago your work and MS Selfie has made a massive impact on me and made me feel well armed to understand ms and various aspects to it. Your efforts are much appreciated and as someone who works in a different side of academia myself where we can all feel overwhelmed (I can only imagine how much worst it is for clinical and research colleagues in your field) all your work and efforts from a patient perspective have made a real difference to lives. Thank you. Thomas Leahy
Well done for making such a great decision. Life must always come first, and family and outside interests help to keep us happy and content with our lives. All work and no play makes Jack a very sad boy. Joy must be a part of life. That said I’m super happy that you are keeping MS Selfie going. I’m also very happy that your focus around EBV is continuing and the potentials a vaccine might create towards stopping MS.
A lovely post to read this morning. Thank you.