I have known Mrs Michelle Muscat for a number of years and well before she became the wife of our prime minister.  In my dealings with her she has always struck me as being very energetic, efficient in whatever role she was playing and a 'doer'. How she manages to juggle it all while looking fresh, warm and pleasant is a mystery to someone who is constantly battling against time. And this achieved while in the background there is a constant yapping and criticism of what she is saying, wearing, doing. She ignores it all and follows her objectives unflinchingly. Anyway most people tend to cling to their beliefs to the degree that they filter out any evidence that challenges these beliefs. Those of us who know her appreciate the work she is doing to make the lives of those less fortunate better. It is with this in mind that that the Marigold Foundation (her own creation and of which she is a very active chairperson) together with BOV in the Community held a fund-raising dinner in aid of the newly founded National Alliance for Rare Diseases Support (Malta). The evening of creativity, music and inevitably food was held at the Orange Gardens at Villa Francia in Lija.

****************************

Mrs Muscat enjoys enough clout to have engaged the presence of none other than Sean Hepburn Ferrer the eldest son of dedicated philantropist and icon Audrey Hepburn and Mel Ferrer. He is the ambassador of the EURORDIS (the voice of rare disease patients in Europe)  who was present with his wife. Like his mother Mr Hepburn Ferrer is a philanthropist and contributes to elevating the voice of rare disease in the international consciousness and is a symbol for all patient organizations who are familiar with the struggle of having patient voices heard and the difficulties in the quest to find care.

It is no coincidence that Mrs Muscat and Mr Hepburn Ferrer are interested in rare diseases, as they told us later on in their respective speeches. Audrey Hepburn passed away from a rare cancer, Pseudomyxoma adenocarcinoma, a disease that affects only one in a million people and subsequently Mr Hepburn Ferrer recalls the frustration of the long and difficult diagnoses. As he stood up to speak to us at dinner he quoted his mother's words of solidarity in saying: "alone we can do so little, but together we can do so much" to describe the power of the rare diseases community when we speak with a united voice and work to bring patients out of isolation. "While 6000-8000 different rare diseases seem like an insurmountable amount, 60,000,000 patients, together with families, medical practitioners and support systems, and which today are coordinated by EURORDIS and NORD, are a power to be reckoned with". He continues to volunteeer his time to EURORDIS and engage in truly philanthropic activities like that evening at  Villa Francia.

*********************

Mrs Muscat delivered an excellent speech too, at times speaking emotionally about her mother who passed away some six months ago of a rare disease too, hence her setting up this organization. Her very well chosen words were beautifully delivered, yes they were and there was substance in her speech.  She spoke from the heart: "One fine day the little simple things are no longer simple. Life might no longer be beautiful... life lacks energy... life lacks sunshine... life stops... life ceases to have meaning... life becomes a lifetime battle... life has two faces... life can smile at you... life can cry with you...tonight we are celebrating both... to appreciate that smile you have to know what that cry means..." She told us that her mother was not Audrey Hepburn "she was a simple, ordinary woman but yet again, like Audrey Hepburn, she too was a rare pearl... she too suffered from a rare disease... and like Sean here, we all strove to give her our utmost support, to be there for her, to try to understand what she was going through, why all this happened in the first place and why to her." As Mrs Muscat said, she could have left all this behind as like everyone else she likes the sunshine. "I love those carefree days when you think that nothing can ever change, but dwelling in the sunshine alone will not help those people suffering from a rare disease whose name they barely know. It will not support them in their daily struggles; it will not help them live life as best they can in the circumstances." So that is why the National Alliance for Rare Disease Support Malta was launched the day before in the presence of Mr and Mrs Hepburn Ferrer, the first of its kind in Malta "where patients and their families still find it very difficult to cope with knowing that there is nobody at hand that can understand them."

*********************

But this was not an evening of gloom and doom. Far from it. Dinner was preceded by a well organized tour of the elegant rooms of  Villa Francia where there was an abundance of flowers and beautiful models. Mary Grace Pisani chose this evening to launch her design house's new name SANI and to reach beyond what is glamorous and elegant to send a message of hope through its Spring 2016 collection. There were some lovely clothes. She really is a gifted designer. Three musicians played background music as we dined and Ben Camille, one of the darling sons of Pierre and Carina compered the evening.

Mrs Muscat also thanked all those who had worked hard to make the evening successful but also significant and then proposed a toast. I take off my hats not only to the stars of the evening Sean Hepburn Ferrer and Mrs Muscat but to all those who participated and contributed in any way, not least of all those whose table I shared and whose company I thoroughly enjoyed.

******************

 Here's to life enhancers. Let us ignore those who constantly pour cold water and try to make life unpleasant. Who has time for them when there is so much work to be done.

Hurrah for life enhancers. Give me an excess of them.