‘One day I was unable to feel my right leg’
Kimberley Mcveigh, 32, from Johnstone is a teacher and was diagnosed with relapsing MS in April 2018.
She said: “Thinking back, before being diagnosed with MS, I used to feel ill quite often but was always a bit embarrassed about taking time to go into the doctors – putting it down to teacher’s flu, viruses and things like that.
“Then one day I woke up and was unable to feel my right leg.
“I continued to put it down to other little things but was finally convinced to go to the doctor after a week by friends and family.
“A year later, after a series of appointments and MRI scans I finally got the news from the doctor who simply said: ‘You’ve got MS, it’s incurable and would potentially continue to get worse.’
“And that was that.
“It’s incredibly daunting, I wasn’t given much information at first and I don’t think people tend to know much about MS or, if they do, just the scarier parts of it.
“It took a few months for me to come to terms with my diagnosis.
“It’s not something you ever think about or consider you might have and there’s a sense that I didn’t want to admit that
I had the condition. Now I’m able to accept it more and know it doesn’t stop me from achieving or living my life to the fullest potential.”
Ms Mcveigh added: “It can be incredibly hard to deal with.
“I’m lucky in that I have an amazing support network of family and friends but for people who aren’t in that position it must be a lot more difficult.
“I think it’s important that we keep raising awareness about MS in Scotland particularly given the high rate of the condition.
“Research has come on massively in recent years and the more people know the better.”
She added: “That’s something I think is incredibly important, making sure people know how the condition can affect you and how varied that can be – that’s something that organisations like the MS Society are incredibly helpful for.”