Hi Yorete & Londrina,

In 2022, I lost everything and met Londrina (my multiple sclerosis)! 2022 life beat me, the NHS left me for dead. My own health team is delusional and has tried to bully me, the symptoms and experience is awful, and etc. I was officially diagnosed last year in mid July. However, now that I know more about MS, I believe I have had it at least since I was 10 years old. I have Relapsing remitting MS, stage 2. There are 4 stages.

Thanks to myself I'm here and now have a new bestie, Londrina. Not that I was ever lonely, now I'm never alone! The disabled world is not kind however in this world you need to be the change you want! I've always volunteered with children and teenagers to promote education however it's time to switch.

I am proud to now be officially disabled & have multiple sclerosis. I accept it and use the law, the Equality Act, as knowledge is power to protect me. This is an invisible autoimmune disease however if you look close you can see our struggles! If it wasn't for me I wouldn't know I had migraines, brain lesions and now MS.

MS is Multiple sclerosis an autoimmune disease, it's a neurological condition. Multiple sclerosis is caused by your immune system mistakenly attacking the brain, spinal cord and nervous system. It's not clear why this happens.

But it's 2023, I am rebuilding my life and although my health is actually getting worse and I have new brain lesions, but I am still amazing & awesome! Darling, I'm fabulous!

Charities like Shift.MS actually save lives, others are just more informative. I have had the chance to meet other MSers, I now hold monthly MS events to support others, I volunteer with them and raise awareness for multiple sclerosis individually too. Everyone knows cancer, but no one knows multiple sclerosis.

Us MSers, we were already strong, MS didn't make us strong. Don't justify pain. PLEASE HELP in donating even as little as £ 10, if not more to help with research and other people like me suffering.

No MS is not hereditary, if we have kids they won't get it. It's not diet based, everyone's symptoms is different. It's a snowflake disease. Most common symptoms depression and chronic fatigue. We have 10 years less life expectancy, higher suicide and depression rate compared to all disabilities and diseases.

There is no cure, only treatments which also have it's own severe symptoms and give you more depression. The treatment is to help the your immune system attack less the brain, spine and nerves. Doesn't mean it will work, you are either stable or worse. Our symptoms can also change as time goes by.

What is the challenge/fundraiser?

To swim 3 times a week, do 13 laps each session, as I have leg pain and cramps. This is a big challenge.

My current symptoms are and before were more: extreme insomnia (I barely sleep, 5 hours a day is a miracle ), chronic fatigue ( it's exhausting being FABUUU ), neuropathic pain ( face burning sensation, I can smell my face burning ), narcolepsy ( I can fall asleep while you talk to me, my brain shuts down and restarts after a minute, you are not boring me to death, lol ), constant body temperature changing ( upper body is always hot and lower body cold ), leg cramps and pain, body paralysis ( the loss of the ability to move some or all of your body ) and depression.

My new symptom is losing the sensation of feeling in my hands.They are going numb, I get cuts and bruises too easily on my hands and all over my body. I get burned by the wind especially my hands, my skin and hair follicles are also attacked. I have lost and losing my hair, eyelashes, eyebrows. My hair texture and skin type have also changed.

Stress makes our symptoms flares up and we can have attacks and if very severe be hospitalised. We have physical and mental difficulties. With MS the element of surprise is the worst part, you can paralysed or go blind any moment, your body is not yours anymore as you cannot control it.

However, we are not just MS! So let's go! Yorete & Londrina :)

For more info on Shift.ms-

Shift.ms is an international charity and digital community for people diagnosed with MS. We aim tom create a positive, enabling community which empowers MSers to acknowledge their MS, rethink how to achieve their ambitions and get on with their lives. Shift.ms was launched in 2009 by George Pepper and his friends, following George’s diagnosis with MS at the age of 22. MS is the most commonly diagnosed neurological condition in people in their 20s and 30s in the UK. Despite this, George found it difficult to find other MSers of his age, even online. This frustration led him to set up a website where MSers could meet and share experiences. This later became www.Shift.ms.