Hi friends & family,

As many of you will already know, I was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis in August, making 2022 a rather interesting year for me. On the 2nd of April 2023, exactly one year after being discharged from hospital with a semi-paralysed leg, among other issues, I’m intending to run the London Landmarks Half Marathon. 

For those who are interested, here is my rollercoaster of an MS story: 

It kicked off during a ski holiday to Morzine in March, when I got sick with a lung infection on the 2nd day of the trip, confining me to die in our flat for the rest of the holiday. Eventually, I got better after a few days upon returning home but then things started to get weird… 

About a week after recovering from the infection, my left leg developed major sensory issues. The issue was my leg had flipped hot and cold sensations and had numb patches forming in random spots. Eg: when getting into my bed, instead of registering the cold bed sheets as cold, it felt as if they were boiling hot, and vice versa.

After going to A&E, they said it was nothing to worry about, blaming the medication given to me by the (pesky) French, and sent me on my way. Oh, boy were they wrong. Two days after that visit, I tried to stand after getting out of bed and collapsed to the floor when I realised my right leg had no strength and I couldn’t move it. Not fun. Don’t recommend it.

After going back to A&E, they admitted me and I spent the next 6 days waiting for answers as to why this was happening, alongside making friends and getting very little sleep in the geriatrics ward. The nurses loved me as I was probably the youngest person in there by around 50 years! After doctors from several different departments prodded and poked me throughout my visit, making me repeat my story and trying to figure out what was wrong, I was eventually allowed to leave the day after my MRI was done, with a diagnosis of Brown Sequard Syndrome.

Sadly, there was a mix-up in my test results and to confirm I had MS, I had to wait for another MRI in July. Consequently, between April and July, I had several relapses of MS, with my legs being quite painful to walk on, going numb in several places, rapid changes in temperature and on a near-constant stream of steroids. Towards the end of July, it started to affect my arms and hands with more numb patches. It was especially weird because I couldn’t feel the top of my hands when I washed them in the sink.

After my second MRI in July, it was clear to see through the results that new lesions had formed on my spine and brain and that it was indeed MS. Since then, I have been trying (with difficulty) to adjust to the long-term medication. 

However, I have had a very positive outlook on this life development. I am keen to just crack on with it, get adjusted to this, albeit annoying, reality and get back to enjoying life!

I am VERY appreciative of the amazing support I have been given by the MS Teams at Chelsea & Westminster and Charing Cross Hospitals (especially Dr Singh-Curry, Esther and Omeada!), and of course, my friends, family and work Team. Without them, this would have been an especially difficult period of my life and I am forever grateful!

I am running to get back into fitness, something which was seriously lacking in 2022 and to raise some money to help end this terrible lifelong disease. It has not been an easy time and MS seems to affect everyone differently, with some who I have spoken to confronting far worse symptoms than I have experienced. Thankfully, I have seen that more and more treatments are being researched and released every day. 

Any contributions whatsoever would be really appreciated :)

I am aiming to beat my last half-marathon time of 1hr 57mins but we will see how I get on. Let me know if you are interested in joining me, Jack, Kiki, Ben, Tavy, Jess and Charlie on the run! 

If you want to learn more about MS, have a look at the MS Society link below or at their website here: http://www.mssociety.org.uk/

Thanks for reading and again, I would be very grateful for any support you can give!

With love,

Tom x