Ruth Tladi is using her voice to speak up for young black women who are facing the diagnosis of Multiple Sclerosis; she is breaking stereotypes and advocating for state patients with MS.
South Africa (01 August 2025) – In honour of the 75th anniversary of Multiple Sclerosis South Africa, we meet Ruth Tladi, who shares her journey in living with Multiple Sclerosis (MS), to help dispel misconceptions and challenge stereotypes.
We are delighted to highlight the inspiring stories of South Africans who are facing unknown battles and still live life to the fullest. For Ruth, this journey has been a challenging one, but every challenge has given her more to champion.
The disease is still underrepresented in South Africa, but that is changing! Multiple Sclerosis South Africa (MSSA) is raising the profile of the disease, offering support for families and raising funds to help make a difference. Their goal is to unite Africa and create a federation for the continent that will empower thousands of people suffering from these health issues. And in a world where state healthcare struggles to meet basic demands, they unite those who face uncertainty in treatment, advocating for change!
We hope to highlight many stories in celebration of their 75th anniversary, a diamond jubilee, so to speak. It is a celebration of all the gems who aim to make living with MS a little easier.
What is Multiple Sclerosis
Multiple Sclerosis is an unpredictable, often disabling disease of the central nervous system. It interrupts the flow of information within the brain and between the brain and body. Symptoms can range from numbness and tingling to blindness and paralysis.
Every case is proving unique, and the progress, severity and specific symptoms of MS in any one person cannot yet be predicted, but advances in research and treatment are moving closer to a world free of MS.
Most people with MS are diagnosed between the ages of 20 and 50, with at least two to three times more women than men being diagnosed with the disease. MS affects more than 2.3 million people worldwide. MS is one of the most common diseases of the central nervous system. Today, over 2,500,000 people around the world have MS.
There is so much more to the disease, which we have shared for World MS Day 2023 here.
“I Was Told Black People Don’t Get MS”: Ruth Tladi’s Journey of Survival, Advocacy, and Strength.
It was Easter weekend in 2009 when Ruth Tladi’s body began to betray her again. She was attending a night church service in a small Free State farming town when she started to swell. A sharp headache followed, along with a rash and sudden vision loss.
By then, the symptoms weren’t new. They’d been showing up, unexplained, since 2007 when Ruth was in Grade 11. She had already lost her sight once and undergone an operation in Bethlehem. Soon after, she began losing mobility, too.
“I would sometimes wake up with no ability to open my mouth or move my legs,” she says.
She got better just in time for matric, but her hopes of starting tertiary education were quickly derailed.
“I was bedridden for almost a week before I could get enough money to see a doctor. He wrote me an urgent transfer letter to Charlotte Maxeke Hospital in Johannesburg.”
The trip was lonely and frightening. Ruth didn’t have parents to lean on, and few around her took her condition seriously.
“Already at home I was labelled, because it all started at a church service. No one rushed to help or even tried to understand what I was going through.”
When she arrived at Charlotte Maxeke, the first diagnosis was Diffuse Scleroderma. Two days later, she was called into a room with Professor Modi and Dr Muhammad from the hospital’s Rheumatology team. They broke the news of her MS diagnosis and explained that they would work to find the best course of treatment to help someone so young.
Ruth says the words left her flabbergasted. “I saw my dreams fade away.” Having a dual diagnosis provided a whole new set of challenges for Ruth. MS, which attacks the central nervous system, and Scleroderma, which causes hardening of the skin and internal organs, each required specialised treatment.
“The medication for MS clashed with the treatment for Scleroderma,” she says. “Instead of getting better, I got worse.”
Eventually, Ruth made the difficult decision to stop treatment entirely and find a new path that worked for her specific case. She now goes for check-ups when possible, but has had to become her own advocate in a system not built to support people with complex needs.
“Honestly, an epidemiological study for Multiple Sclerosis needs to be done in South Africa. It would help both doctors and patients avoid situations like mine, where I had to choose between treatment for MS or Scleroderma.”
One of the biggest challenges has been the consistent pushback as a young black woman being told that black people don’t get MS. These harmful assumptions continue to contribute to misdiagnosis, delays in care, and lasting emotional harm. And not to mention, accessing treatment through the public health system is a challenge all on its own.
“They said, ‘You’re too young.’ And I was told, ‘Black people don’t get MS.’”
“I was told there was no MS treatment available. And when you rely on the state, there’s not much else you can do.”
MSSA notes that this experience is far too common for people living with MS in South Africa, especially young black women who face cultural stigma, medical bias, and limited public health resources.
“Everything was new to me.”
In 2014, Ruth joined the inland chapter. She needed support, and the group was there to welcome her with open arms. She now works alongside the MSSA team, using her story to raise awareness and help other young women like herself, so their journeys don’t feel so lonely.
“I joined for support and so I could tell my story,” she says. “Everything was new to me. But I’ve been doing MS awareness and advocacy ever since.”
Her work has helped shine a light on the realities of living with a condition that is often invisible and deeply misunderstood.
“MS doesn’t look the same on everyone,” she says. “And yet the system still tries to treat it like it does.”
While work has been challenging, she finds ways to adapt and take on jobs more catered to her abilities. Despite everything, Ruth keeps speaking out. Advocacy has become her most powerful tool and having the MSSA team behind her means her voice is amplified to greater heights.
“I tell my story because someone else might be walking this path too,” she says. “MS doesn’t care about your race, age, or postcode. But maybe, if we speak loud enough, the system will start to care about us.”
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