Ben’s Friends student interns from the University of Toronto (UofT) organized a seminar titled “An Exploration into Rare Neurological Disorders” last January 17 in the said university.
Speakers in the seminar include two specialists in rare neurological disorders, Dr. Hans Dieter Katzberg and Dr. Ivan Radovanovic, and members of the Toronto Fibromyalgia Support Group, Jana Saracevic and Irene Au.
As the first speaker, Dr. Katzberg gave a brief introduction on neurological rare diseases and then focused on his main specialization, Myasthenia Gravis (MG). Dr. Radovanovic, on his part, focused on arteriovenous malformation (AVM) including the treatment options.
Jana Saracevic and Irene Au, on the other hand, shared their personal experiences in relation to fibromyalgia. This includes the difficulty of its diagnosis because of its massive overlap in symptoms with other conditions like chronic depression.
The seminar was attended by around 50 people, all of whom braved the chilly Friday night to participate in the discussion.
Ben’s Friends Lead Intern Arjuna Srikrishnaraj is very happy because of what the group has accomplished so far and because they are attracting new members.
“I am proud to say we have been growing rapidly since we started, and only expect to get even bigger so that more people find out about Ben’s Friends.”
The University of Toronto (UofT) chapter of Ben’s Friends started in November 2018 with only six members and has since grown into 22 student members.
The group is organizing another event that will be held sometime in March. In between preparations, they are also conducting fundraisers for the benefit of the Ben’s Friends patient members.
