Toni is my best friend and the strongest woman I know!

Literally could roll a car one day and jump back into it driving the next – when you fall off that horse! We met on our first day of European Business at Loughborough Business School and it's history from there and that first cup of tea after lectures.

Then came Ivan and Towers – an escape from Falkner Eggington! Toni and I lived next door, but one in 1997. Portugal and the villa were some fabulous holidays all together. We then all had years abroad – between the three of us in Rennes, Paris and Giessen. Then we graduated and what a ball! No cigars to be mentioned… We all lived a few streets away after Uni, in Nottingham.

Toni and Ivan married in 2004. Less than a year later, Toni was diagnosed with Multiple sclerosis (MS). MS is a neurological condition that causes the immune system to attack the myelin sheath which protects the nerves in your brain and spinal cord (the central nervous system).

1. It’s estimated that 130,000 people in the UK have MS.

2. Every week around 130 more people are diagnosed.

3. It’s nearly three times more common in women than in men.

4. Most people are diagnosed in their 20s and 30s, but it can be diagnosed in younger and older people.

5. MS isn’t infectious or contagious so you can’t catch it or pass it on to other people.

6. MS is the most common condition of the central nervous system affecting young adults.

7. MS is a lifelong condition but it is not a terminal illness.

8. Everyone's MS is different so no two people will have the same range and severity of symptoms, even if they are closely related.

9. MS is more common in countries further north or south from the equator, but it is just as common in Black people as it is in White people.

10. MS is not inherited, but family members do have a slightly higher risk of developing MS.

Before being diagnosed, Toni was Manager in a five-star hotel in London and a qualified fitness instructor. Her diagnosis has never stopped her zest for life and Toni continues to challenge herself, It has not stopped her from scuba diving, competing at the National Wheelchair Championships with her daughter Lili, flying in a spitfire and microlite aircraft, riding on the world’s fastest zipline, sailing in the English Channel as well as indoor sky diving. Adrenaline activities still on her to do list include shark diving and outdoor skydiving. She has also held many fundraisers for the MS Society including Casino Nights and barbecues at the Cricket Club in Wantage ((wantagecc.co.uk)).

Toni has travelled with Ivan across Europe and to many far-off destinations including San Francisco and Florida in the US, Kenya and the Maldives. Over the past couple of years, they have also explored Wales and Scotland traveling as far north John O’Groats and west to the Isle of Skye. I am very lucky to be a godmother to Lili and for those who know Toni, we are blessed to have this amazing and inspirational woman in our lives.

Please donate what you can to this vital charity.