Rebekah Buxton was 24 when tingling in her right arm turned out to be something far more serious than a pinched nerve. Multiple diagnoses appointments later, an MRI confirmed multiple sclerosis. Now 42 and a geotechnical engineer raising three children in Kauri, near Whangārei, she has shared her story for MS Awareness Week (September 14 to 20) – and her biggest takeaway is that no two patients follow the same path. Some people with MS show few visible signs while still dealing with fatigue, numbness, vision problems or co-ordination issues, because symptoms depend on which nerves the immune system attacks.
Buxton kept working and parenting with a cane until February 2025, when her condition took a sharp turn. Her right leg spasmed for the first time while she was driving; her foot jammed on the accelerator and she hit a lamp post. The crash left her with a burst fracture of the L1 vertebra, stabilised with two rods and four screws. A walker and an electric scooter followed – but the hardest loss, she says, was her driver's licence. Not being able to get her kids to the things they want to do, she says, outweighs everything else. The family has coped thanks to other parents, her own parents ferrying the children around, and her husband David, who has absorbed household chores and onsite visits for their shared business, Northland Geotechnical Specialists. She still works as much as she can, with an afternoon nap treated as non-negotiable, trains with a personal trainer who adapts each session, and sits on Whangārei District Council's Accessibility Advisory Group.
There are bright spots, too. On a once-in-a-lifetime family trip to Europe in 2024, the family was moved to the front of the queues at the Louvre – which is how Buxton came to see the Mona Lisa up close, a perk of accessible-travel priority she never expected. Closer to home, Whangārei marked awareness week by lighting the Canopy Bridge, the gum tree in the Forum North carpark and the Cameron St Mall canopy orange on September 14 and 20. The Northland Multiple Sclerosis Society runs monthly group meetings in Whangārei and Kerikeri, plus free exercise classes.
Why does this belong on a travel site? Because Buxton's story is a reminder of how much independence hinges on mobility, and how much accessibility measures – queue priority, adaptable activities, local support networks – can salvage a big trip for someone with a chronic condition. It is also a nudge for travellers passing through Northland: this is a region where community support is visibly strong, and where landmarks literally change colour for causes. For anyone travelling with MS or a similar condition, the practical lessons are simple: build rest into every day, lean on accessible-entry schemes at major attractions, and don't assume a diagnosis means the end of ambitious family holidays – Buxton got her Mona Lisa, after all.