August 1st 2014 - MS Day One

“I’m pleased we did the MRI, we can see lesions on your brain and spine” said the consultant, deep down I already knew what was coming next as I had spent the previous 5 weeks checking my good friend Dr Google and had come to my own amateur diagnosis. He was going to say that “they thought it was MS” and a few moments later that was the news he delivered.

What had started as pins and needles throughout my arms and legs and a back that felt like it was on fire had deteriorated to the point where I was stuck in a bed and unable to move my head without being constantly sick. I had to use a wheelchair or walking aid whilst being held up by my Dad, I knew what my legs were supposed to do but my brain couldn’t get them to move! The previous month I had competed in a triathlon and I was now in a situation where I didn’t know if I was going to be able to walk again.

I was so lucky that I got diagnosed early and can’t thank the incredible NHS Neuro team at PRHH enough. From Consultants, Nurses, Physios and Occupational Health it’s safe to say that I’ve certainly cost the NHS a fair amount of money. This was added to when I was fortunate to be given the opportunity to receive a new ground breaking drug - Lemtrada. MS drugs are notoriously expensive and the cost of Lem is no different, you don’t get much change out of £70,000 for an 8 day treatment and this brings me to my fundraising challenge.

My Road to IM Copenhagen Challenge

Everyone has a midlife crisis and as I approached my 40th birthday I thought about what I could do to say thank you for being able to carry on with my ‘normal’ life and pay something back to all the people that have helped me. I’ve signed up to 4 endurance events which started at the Brighton Half Marathon in Feb and will finish on Aug 20th when I hope to complete the Copenhagen Ironman. Sandwiched in-between is the Brighton Marathon in April and a Half Ironman in June, these events alone will require me to swim 6km, cycle 270km and run 126km.

It’s safe to say that the training has taken over my life and by the end of August I would have cycled around 8000km, that’s roughly the equivalent of London - Beijing!!!

I’ve met some incredible people on this journey, from other people with MS who are always there to offer support and help through to friends and family who you know you can count on during those times when all you want to do is shed a tear and need a hug.

I’m so lucky to have some great friends to train with and can’t wait until we ALL get over that finish line in Copenhagen. We all have our own reasons and personal stories for doing this and to Russ, Gill, Chris, Jane all I can say is ‘Lad os gøre det'

My Charity - MS Society

All donations will go to the MS Society and I hope that any money I can raise will help to further the fight against this debilitating and incurable condition which affects around 100,000 people in the UK alone.