Roxy's Story

Living life beyond a diagnosis

At 15, Roxanne Rooney was like many South Canterbury teenagers. She was active, driven and passionate about sport. As Head of Sports at her high school, she thrived on competition and being part of a team. Then came a diagnosis that would change everything. Roxanne was told she had multiple sclerosis, a chronic and incurable autoimmune disease.

“Being told you have MS with no cure was confusing and terrifying,” she says.

While her friends were thinking about the future, Roxanne was learning to manage relapses, uncertainty and new limitations. The very thing that had always brought her joy suddenly came with restrictions.

“I went from being told I couldn’t run to having to rethink everything,” she recalls.

Roxanne’s story could have stopped there, but instead it became one of resilience. She began to reshape what her life could look like and found strength in doing things differently. Living with MS gave her a new perspective and deepened her empathy for others.

“It made me more intentional about saying yes to opportunities,” she says. “I didn’t want to be defined by MS.”

Today, Roxanne is a secondary school teacher, encouraging young people to stay active and believe in themselves. It is a path she once may not have thought possible.

Then, she took on an even bigger personal challenge!

In November 2025, Roxanne took part in Ride for MS, a cycling journey across Cambodia to raise funds for Multiple Sclerosis New Zealand. Alongside a small group of others, she cycled up to 50 kilometres each day, the training was hard while balancing life as a mum of three young boys but then there was the ride itself.

“There are definitely moments where I thought, what did I signed up for?” she laughs. “But I love an adventure, and this is about so much more than me.”

Through her efforts, Roxanne has raised awareness and support for the more than 5,000 New Zealanders living with MS. Just as importantly, she hopes to offer encouragement to others facing their own diagnosis.

Living with MS brings ongoing uncertainty, and the possibility of relapse is always there. Even so, Roxanne is focused on what she can do, rather than what she cannot.

“This is about proving to myself and others that MS doesn’t get to decide what I can achieve,” she says.

How the Aoraki Foundation helped:

The Aoraki Foundation is pleased to be able to support MS South Canterbury with a grant of $7,000 from the South Canterbury Health Endowment, thanks to our donor Bidwill Trust Hospital.  This helps ensure MS South Canterbury can support locals like Roxy as they navigate this disease.