‘I never told anyone something was wrong’
‘WHEN you’re young you think you are invincible’ says Carla Brennan, as she looks back on the earliest signs of Multiple Sclerosis.
At 17, Carla was like any other teenager, looking forward to finishing her Leaving Cert and embarking on her first taste of freedom at college.
‘Initially, I thought it was exam stress, I would go to stand up and my legs would give way. I never said anything to anyone, not to my mum or anyone that something was wrong.’
So, when the symptoms faded, she thought nothing more of it. Until, at aged 22 they returned with more obvious signs of illness.
‘I was walking home from work, and suddenly realised I was dragging my leg behind me. I also had lost sight in one eye.’
She added: ‘I really didn’t know what was wrong, and again I never told anyone. That’s something I’ve really learned, it’s important to talk about what’s going on. But I was young then, and I guess you think you’re invincible.’
Within two years, Carla had lost the sight in her right eye entirely.
Having gone to a number of doctors, it took time to get a clear diagnosis.
‘It was the early noughties, and at that time MS was not that easy to diagnose.’
She added that the ‘cyclical’ nature of her symptoms, appearing and disappearing from time to time, meant that she was unsure what was going on.
None of that, she adds, had stopped her from pursuing her education and career, and indeed she had completed a Business and Computer Science degree, and a Masters before her condition became difficult to manage.
‘I remember at my Masters graduation, I couldn’t see out of my right eye. It was frightening.’
At 24 years old, she was diagnosed with MS, a condition she has lived with for the last twenty years.
‘I was working by that stage, and I must say my employer was really good. I took two months off, but went back to work after that.’
Looking back now, she admits: ‘Mentally, I really wasn’t in a good place. I was so young, and a diagnosis like that impacts on all areas of your life, work and social life.’
She found that going for nights out with friends had changed, as she could no longer tolerate drinking alcohol.
‘I felt self conscious, and a burden on people,’ she recalls.
She took up a job as a Maths teacher in a school, adding: ‘I tried to handle it all myself, but I recognise now I didn’t need to.’
Carla married her partner Shane, and soon they were expecting their first child.
‘I was fortunate that in my first pregnancy, the symptoms had disappeared a lot. That can happen, and I found I had great relief when I was expecting Aoibheann.’
Originally from Sligo, they moved to north Louth five years ago, and are delighted, she adds, to have found a beautiful home close to the sea at Lordship.
She went on to have her second child,
Ailbhe, now 5, and experienced a much more difficult pregnancy.
‘I think that can happen, sometimes the symptoms get worse.’
Carla adds that the move to Louth opened her up to a whole new range of support services provided by MS Ireland.
‘ The services and supports here have been fantastic. I was able to access physiotherapy for the first time. The voluntary group in Louth are amazing support, and I really would advise anyone who is affected by MS to make contact with them.’