If you think of Heather, you think of Food. Those of you who know me, if I'm not thinking about food, I'm eating food, and if I'm not eating food I'm looking at food. My days are planned around food and there’s always space for more. What better way to raise money than to give up my identity for a month? 

For the month of May I will be giving up my 4 Kryptonites, the 4 things that keep me going and keep me sane. Because why give up 1 thing when you can give up 4? (I'll live to regret this). Are you ready? 

1. Coffee (Seriously...)
2. Cake (I'm not joking)
3. Chocolate (You must think I'm crazy)
4. Cheese (OK now you definitely think I'm mad)

"Whaaaat" I hear you say. Yep, I'm serious. A serious cause requires serious action. 

MS stands for Multiple Sclerosis, a neurological condition that affects the nerves in the brain and spinal cord. 'Sclerosis' means scarring or hardening of tiny patches of tissue. 'Multiple' is added because this happens at more than one place in the brain and/or spinal cord. MS is not a terminal condition, but it is one that you will live with for the rest of your life. 

MS is an autoimmune condition which means that the immune system is mistakenly attacking parts of your body instead of just attacking invaders like viruses and bacteria. In MS, the attack is on a protein called myelin which forms the insulating covering around the nerves. The resulting patches of damage to the nerves mean that messages don't get passed along the nerve very efficiently or, sometimes, may not get through at all. Symptoms correspond to the areas of your brain and spinal cord that have been damaged.

My mother has Primary-Progressive MS. This type of MS is not very common and occurs in roughly 10% of people with MS. This type of MS is characterised by slowly worsening symptoms from the beginning, with no relapses or remissions. 

Over the last 15 years I have watched the MS slowly but surely take over not only my mom's life, but also my family's and mine. There are good days and bad days, but MS has become part of my life and something I have to learn to come to terms with. I am painfully aware that there is nothing I can do to take away the MS or fix her MS. 

There are treatments available to decrease or slow down the effects of MS, which sadly no longer ease my mom's symptoms. To this date no causes have been identified and no cure has been developed. I want to play my part in helping the research, in helping support families, carers and MS patients. This is the only thing I have control over. 

And this is where you come into play. If you want to see me go without my kryptonite for a whole month and support a great cause, I'd really appreciate any donation you'd be able to spare. Thank you so much.