I was diagnosed with severe relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (MS) in 2009. This was kept more or less under control until last year, when a series of relapses left me extremely disabled. At one point I lost the sight in one eye and was for all purposes paralysed from the waist down (I could twitch one of my big toes!). I had to drop out of university, and as I lived in a first floor flat I had to move back home and rely on my mother to take care of me.

I had received numerous treatments which had been keeping my disease relatively manageable but were no longer working. The only treatment that offered any hope was a peripheral blood stem cell transplant - also known as a bone marrow transplant.

This procedure is more commonly used to treat leukaemia and lymphoma but is also used in very severe cases of immune system disorder such as MS. This is not a common procedure for the treatment of  MS - I can proudly say that I am the first person in Scotland to receive a bone marrow transplant for the treatment of MS!

After a year of being in a wheelchair or using walking sticks I am now walking independently again. I have moved back in with my partner and I am hoping to go back to uni this year. I am so grateful to all the doctors who took a chance and accepted me for a bone marrow transplant, and also to the wonderful staff who have looked after me. I have set myself the challenge of walking 54 mile in 24hrs as a way of saying thank you.

Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.

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.