Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.

My family and friends have asked me what MS is like and how I cope living with this cruel disability, the truth is after 21 years of living with the beast, I still don't know how to explain it. For me personally, the hardest part about it, is that I wasn't prepared for slowing down. The old me never stopped, I worked 7 days a week, juggling 3 jobs, working night and day, bringing up a young child, housework, driving to Blackpool to visit my beloved parents, organised charity events and still found the energy to party hard with friends. Life was so busy back then. The reason I kept myself so busy, was so I could prove to everyone that MS didn’t own me! 

I've had years living with depression, anxiety, unbearable pain, spasticity, brain fog, tinnitus, embarrassing bladder problems, fatigue & sheer ruddy clumsiness!

Moving into our bungalow 3 1/2 years ago, was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done, realising my mobility was declining at a rapid pace. It’s incredibly scary and trying to do the everyday things like taking a shower and getting dressed is mentally and physically draining. It takes over an hour just to shower, needing to rest afterwards as my body trembles terribly due to the efforts of washing! Nobody can prepare you for the sheer exhaustion, getting dressed is fun, I can only do it sitting down now, the falls I had before are too many to mention, I can’t fasten buttons so it’s dresses, tops and elasticated trousers!

It’s crazy the massive amount of medication taken on a daily basis, the numerous hospital appointments with neurologists, spasticity specialists, MS nurses, pain doctors, physiotherapists, the list is endless. I’ve been wearing ankle support braces for years now, I push my wee trolley around indoors, use crutches to get to the car or mobility scooter, another difficult thing to accept is being pushed around in a wheelchair it’s soul destroying, knowing I’m dependent on someone else, is mentally and emotionally crushing.

Despite all of this I still love life! The one thing I've learned over the last few years, is to appreciate every single person and the wonderful memories made, my family and friends really don’t know just how much they mean to me, I’m so lucky, truly blessed and incredibly grateful 💕💕💕