**Sgroliwch i lawr am y fersiwn Gymraeg**

Thank you for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.

My name is Rhiân and I’m 35-year-old teacher from Swansea. I was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis in April 2016 when my daughter was three years of age and my son was a year. My friends, Bec and Nia are kindly fundraising in my name and have asked me to tell my story here in the hope that you might be able to donate to a very worthy cause: MS Society UK. 

MS is an aggressive autoimmune disease, which causes serious damage to all parts of the body by gradually attacking the brain. If left unchecked, its effects can be devastating so receiving a diagnosis is a life-changing event for anyone. I lost the sight in my right eye when my daughter was 10 months old and I had problems with my legs after my son was born in 2015. However, I, and many others like me, have been extremely fortunate to receive world-class care and clinical expertise from the NHS. There is no cure for MS as yet, but we do have a growing range of innovative treatments available to us in the UK. Medical research is obviously vital for developing new therapies and for making those we have safer and more effective. 

I have undergone two rounds of a highly effective treatment called Alemtuzumab, or Lemtrada. This involves a series of antibody infusions as a hospital inpatient – initially over the course of five days and then, one year apart, in a smaller round of three days. This is what is known as an induction therapy, sometimes compared to chemotherapy use in the treatment of certain cancers. It is designed to alter the course of the disease and to eliminate or reduce symptoms I suffer from, ranging from a loss of mobility, vision and motor skills through to problems with cognitive function and clinical fatigue. Alemtuzumab is targeted to kill the rogue cells in my immune system which cause this damage in the brain, allowing them to regrow from stem cells in my bone marrow. The hope is that the antibody serves as a sort of ‘reboot’ of the system, so that when the cells return they have a normal function. To use an IT analogy everyone is familiar with – “have you tried turning it off and on again?!”. There are risks to this approach, however, and I am now at an increased risk of developing other autoimmune conditions such as thyroid disease, and other rarer but potentially very serious side-effects which can cause serious illness or death. 

Researchers rely on charitable donations to continue to discover more about MS as a neurological condition. MS Society UK is a charity based on the hopes and aspirations of the MS community. They campaign at all levels, funding ground-breaking research and providing award winning support and information. Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving - they'll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they'll send your money directly to the charity. So it's the most efficient way to donate - saving time and cutting costs for the charity.

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Diolch am ymweld â’r dudalen hon.

Fy enw i yw Rhiân ac rydw i’n athrawes 35 mlwydd oed yn Abertawe. Cefais ddiagnosis Sglerosis Ymledol yn Ebrill 2016 pan roedd fy mhlant yn 3 oed ac yn flwydd oed. Collais fy ngolwg yn fy llygad dde pan roedd fy merch yn 10 mis oed a chefais broblemau gyda fy nghoesau ar ôl genedigaeth fy mab. Mae fy ffrindiau Bec a Nia yn rhedeg y ras yma er mwyn codi arian i’r elusen MS Society UK. 

Mae MS yn afiechyd hunanimiwn ymosodol sy’n achosi niwed difrifol i bob rhan o’r corff drwy ymosod yn raddol ar yr ymennydd. Rydw i’n un o’r rhai lwcus sydd wedi derbyn triniaeth sydd gyda’r gorau yn y byd ac arbenigedd clinigol ein GIG. Does dim iachâd ar gyfer MS eto ond mae amrywiaeth o driniaethau ar gael yn y Deyrnas Unedig. Yn amlwg, mae ymchwil meddygol yn hanfodol er mwyn datblygu therapïau newydd ac i wneud y rhai sydd ar gael yn fwy diogel ac effeithiol.

Rwyf wedi derbyn dwy rownd o driniaeth o’r enw Alemtuzumab neu Lemtrada. Mae’r driniaeth yn cynnwys cyfres o drwythau mewnwythiennol o wrthgorff fel claf mewnol yn yr ysbyty – pump diwrnod ar gyfer y rownd gyntaf ac yna tri diwrnod ar gyfer yr ail rownd. Gelwir y fath driniaeth yn therapi anwytho sy’n cael ei chymharu â defnydd cemotherapi fel triniaeth i ganser. Nod y driniaeth yw newid cwrs yr afiechyd a dileu neu lleihau y symptomau rwy’n dioddef ohonyn nhw, sy’n cynnwys problemau symudedd, problemau gyda fy ngolwg a sgiliau modur ynghyd â phroblemau gyda fy sgiliau meddwl a blinder clinigol. Mae Alemtuzumab yn targedu’r celloedd rhyfedd yn fy system imiwnedd sy’n achosi’r niwed i’r ymennydd sy’n eu galluogi i aildyfu o gelloedd bonyn yn fy mêr esgyrn. Y gobaith yw bydd y gwrthgorff yn ailgychwyn y system, felly pan fydd y celloedd yn tyfu nôl byddent yn gweithio yn y modd arferol. I ddefnyddio cyfatebiaeth TG y mae pawb yn gyfarwydd â hi – ‘ydych chi wedi trio troi e bant ac yna ymlaen eto?” Fodd bynnag, mae risgiau eraill i’r driniaeth hon. Rwyf yn debygol o ddatblygu afiechydon hunanimiwn eraill fel afiechyd thyroid ac afiechydion anghyffredin sydd â’r potensial o gael sgil-effeithiau sy’n gallu arwain at salwch difrifol iawn neu farwolaeth.

Mae ymchwilwyr yn dibynnu’n fawr ar roddion elusennol er mwyn parhau i ddarganfod mwy am MS fel cyflwr niwrolegol. Mae’r Gymdeithas MS, DU yn elusen sy’n seiliedig ar obeithion a dyheadau o’r Gymuned MS. Maent yn ymgyrchu ar bob lefel, gan ariannu ymchwil arloesol a darparu cefnogaeth a gwybodaeth ardderchog. Mae rhoddi trwy JustGiving yn syml, cyflym a diogel. Mae eich manylion yn ddiogel gyda JustGiving, ni fyddant yn gwerthu nhw neu danfon ebyst diangen. Unwaith rydych yn rhoi, byddent yn danfon yr arian yn uniongyrchol i’r elusen. Dyma’r ffordd fwyaf effeithiol o roi – arbed amser a thorri’r gost i’r elusen.