MS sufferer tells of diagnosis

An Angus hair and beauty student said being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis has made her a better person.

Kerrie Jamieson was 19 when a routine trip to the optician eventually led to the devastating news that she had MS, a neurological condition that affects the nerves.

Scotland has one of the highest rates of MS in the world, and Kerrie is one of more than 11,000 people in the country with the disease.

The Scottish Multiple Sclerosis Register’s annual report for 2017 — released last week — shows there were 363 people newly diagnosed with the condition in Tayside between 2010 and 2016.

The rate equates to 12.58 per 100,000 people and is the second-highest of any health board region in Scotland.

Kerrie, 30, from Brechin, said: “I was pregnant with my son not long after the diagnosis and we decided to have our children and then I could concentrate on my health.

“I think (my husband) Colin took the diagnosis worse than I did.”

Kerrie said MS had also made her daughter Morgan, 9, and son Kyron, 7, more compassionate.

Another sufferer, Kitty Tait, 56, was diagnosed in 2006 with MS, and has since become a full-time wheelchair user.

The former nurse, from Forfar, praised the support of NHS Tayside’s MS nurses, saying that they do “a great job”.