I’ve been able to carry my daughter Shannon once since she was born!
This is the stark reality of living with Multiple Sclerosis.
John known locally as Noddy is a 43 year old married man with 5 children. His wife Patricia has her hands full caring for them all including her husband John. She doesn’t complain. She goes about her work in a quiet and calm manner despite the extreme pressures she is facing – things have changed dramatically since they first met at the marquee in Cushendall in 1999!
John has been farming beef cattle and sheep since he left school at 16. He built up a small holding which had 200 sheep and 25 cattle. Shea the eldest at 13 has been working the farm for the last few years. His daddy’s crippling illness has left him unable to do the work himself. Shea couldn’t cope with the heavy and dangerous work so the cattle are now all gone. Shea along with his younger sister Clodagh 11 and two younger brothers Eoin 8 and Ruari 6, go through the daily farm routine with the sheep. It’s a tough life before and after school! John oversees from a distance.
John’s sister Mary, was alarmed that John now had the same gait as a person she knew who had MS. An appointment was made at the Doctors and within a short time John was in Magherafelt Neurology Department. After tests a few weeks later John was diagnosed with Secondary Progressive Multiple Sclerosis.
MS is basically where the insulating covers of nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord are damaged. This damage disrupts the ability of parts of the nervous system to communicate. John is now wheelchair bound. John has had all medication removed – none of them work now!
There is only one option available to John and time is running out before he will not be allowed to go for the surgery. The group Clinique Ruiz are based in Mexico.The timescale is tight. John has a maximum of 6 months before he exceeds the limit that determines this surgery cannot be performed. Time is running out.