A year ago, I would have thought nothing of taking my little Jack Russell, Lola, for a 10 km country walk at the weekend.  

In December last year, I became unable to walk for a week when I suddenly lost all feeling in my body from my waist down.  

In May this year I was diagnosed with Stage 1 Relapsing Remitting Multiple Sclerosis.

Between November 2014 and the time of my diagnosis, I had endured six MS relapses.  

Multiple Sclerosis is a chronic illness and literally means "many scars".  The scars are present in my nervous system (brain and spine) and occur as my immune system has made my nervous system The Enemy.  It then destroys the outer coating (known as myelin sheath) surrounding my nerves and this is known as a relapse.  When the myelin sheath is destroyed, my nervous system finds it difficult to send messages correctly through the scarred areas to the rest of my body, leading to symptoms such as a deterioration of eyesight, loss of colour vision, muscle spasms, forgetfulness, body pain and difficulties in moving.    

As my immune system is in constant attack mode, my body suffers from chronic fatigue, which makes completing tasks up to five times more energy consuming than that of a "normal" person.  I also battle with constant pins and needles in my legs and feet caused by nerve damage, which make walking difficult and often quite uncomfortable.

MS affects each person in a different way, with 50 different symptoms attributed to the illness.  Relapses can occur at any time,  in any area of the nervous system and have the power to cause complete lifelong disability.  Whilst research is progressing quickly, there is currently no cure for MS.

In light of this, Mum, Lola and I will be participating in the MS Challenge Walk on 27 September to help raise money for MS research through the charity MS Society.  Whilst I know this will be a huge challenge for my body, I have learnt from MS that it is important to appreciate the positives in life: I regained the use of my legs and I want to use them to help others who aren't so fortunate.

Thanks xxx