On 16th June 2023 I was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis. This all started in December 2021 when I suddenly lost all colour vision and a severe decline in my visual acuity of my left eye. It was incredibly painful and I was pretty scared as I was living away from family and had no idea what was going on. I was advised by several health care professionals that this appeared to be a migraine but I didn’t agree. I eventually went to a private optometrist who immediately sent me to eye casualty as by this point I couldn’t see at all and on examination he found some concerning features in my left eye. Following 4 days as an inpatient, my vision returned and I was discharge home with steroids. I came to learn that this eye condition was Optic Neuritis (ON).

The following year and a half was a mixture of balancing university work, placements and exams, with blood tests, recovering my vision and checkups at the eye centre, several MRI scans and neurology appointments. I was told that my brain scans showed some “old lesions” but the doctors weren’t sure of the cause. Throughout this time there was mention of MS but given that I didn’t have previous signs or symptoms of this, my neurologist wasn’t considering it as the main cause of my ON.

I successfully completed university and accepted my first job offer last year in March. Around this time I had another MRI scan. Just as I was starting this new chapter of my life, I received a call saying that my scan showed a new “MS-type” lesion in my brain and so the doctors are going to reconsider the diagnosis of MS. MS lesions, sometimes also called a plaque or scar, are areas in the central nervous system that have been damaged by the immune system's attack. To cut a long story short, following an MS MDT meeting, I was diagnosed with “relapsing-remitting MS” on 16th June 2023 — this essentially means that I may experience relapses (symptoms getting worse) followed by periods of recovery, my disability doesn't get worse between relapses but after each relapse it can end up worse than before. This information was given to me via a letter on a random Monday after work. I spiralled into a depressive episode. I was 3.5 months into my first “proper” job, scared of the future and feeling like my life was over when it should’ve been just beginning.

With the support of my closest people and advice from colleagues, I started an immunosuppressive treatment called Ocrevus which is a 6 monthly infusion that aims to target and kill B cells in an attempt to reduce the number of relapses I might have. This in combination with working on my fitness levels has gotten me back on track and feeling the best I have in 2/3 years. BUT the risk of relapse remains despite me being on medication. I won’t know how effective my treatment is until my next scan. My MRI last September revealed that I have over 20 lesions in my brain and 1 in my cervical spine —hopefully I won’t have more lesions on the next scan!!

I am so fortunate to be able to walk, talk, see, swallow, think and just generally function as normal but there are so many others with MS who struggle with symptoms every single day. Despite various medications being available to hopefully slow the progression of the illness/ reduce relapses, further research is needed to hopefully one day find a cure. MS treatments are all relatively new and so there is so so so much more research to be conducted.

I’ve had to adapt my life to accommodate this condition, change my views on my future and it’s not easy. With everything that is going on in the world at the moment and a current cost of living crisis I am aware that not everyone can donate but I would really REALLY appreciate it if you could please spread the word/ donate anything you can spare to support MS research.