Case Studies
National Osteoporosis Society - NOS Ambassador Robert Rees
Earlier this year the National Osteoporosis Society (NOS) created a new role for members who, in telling their stories of being diagnosed and living with osteoporosis, help raise awareness of the disease.
47-year-old Robert Rees is an NOS Ambassador and regularly visits community groups and local organisations throughout the country.
Robert, from Pontypridd, was diagnosed with osteoporosis in 2003 after losing three inches in height and breaking 12 ribs. The diagnosis forced him to give up his job as a sales director.
Robert’s problems started in 2002 while on holiday in the Dominican Republic with his wife Jean.
He said: “I was whirling Jean round the dance floor when I heard a loud crack and collapsed. I had the most terrible pain in my back.
“I was given a leather and steel brace and heaps of painkillers, and flown home. Doctors suspected I had bone cancer.
“When I was finally diagnosed with osteoporosis it was a complete shock as I thought it was something that affected older women.”
Becoming an NOS Ambassador has given Robert a new lease of life as he says he enjoys talking to groups about the disease.
“People respond positively when I tell my story and I think that this does make them stop and think about their bone health. Especially those that think it can’t happen to them.
“We are in the early days of seeing what impact NOS Ambassadors can have, but so far, it’s been going very well.”
Click here to visit the National Osteoporosis Society (NOS) website.