Hi! I'm Hannah and I've been receiving life-changing treatment for relapse-remitting multiple sclerosis since late 2019. After waking up one day in May unable to walk unaided, think or see clearly and with many of my cognitive faculties impaired, I spent a month on the Neurology ward at Ninewells hospital in Dundee. During this time I met so many wonderful people who were going through similar experiences to me and we struggled through together, helping speak for each other when we couldn't communicate our needs, offering a warm hug and a shoulder to cry on, sharing words of encouragement when physical therapy felt impossible to get through and the occasional late-night chocolate from our loving visitors!

That September, though I was still recovering, I visited the Anne Rowling Regenerative Neurology Clinic for an open evening and was fascinated by all of the different projects they had going on to support people living with neurological conditions and how the staff and researchers were striving to improve the lives of those affected through undertaking ground-breaking research and clinical trials. One thing I was particularly interested in is their ambitious regenerative research, as many neurological conditions continue to have no cure and current treatments focus on minimising and preventing further damage to the central nervous system. While regenerative research remains in its infancy, as of 2024 current trials at the clinic include those aimed at potentially slowing, stopping or reversing the progression of motor neuron disease (MND), investigating ways to reduce brain injury following strokes, trialling new treatments for those living with Parkinson's and establishing whether pre-existing drugs can be utilised in slowing progression for those with secondary-progressive multiple sclerosis.

I would love to contribute to the development of regenerative treatments in whichever way I can, which leads me to the Kiltwalk! Having never attempted anything like this I am both excited and anxious to take on The Mighty Stride, and am looking forward to the sense of achievement which I'm sure will come afterwards when I consider where I was physically and mentally in 2019 compared to 2024. With your help I hope to support future research into regenerative neurology and improving outcomes for people living with neurological conditions.

You can learn more about the clinic and all of the work they do here, and if you’ve sponsored me you’ll see your name on my Kiltwalk t-shirt in the updates I post during and after the walk!

Sincerely,

Hannah